Can I Be You
by JKSketchy
Summary: Born from Him's blood, the Rowdyruffs are struck with the uncontrollable urge to destroy the Powerpuffs. But as it turns out, Mojo is a lousy parent. Can the Rowdyruffs go to the Powerpuffs for help, even after nearly killing them? And once more, will they be able to escape from Mojo's grasp? Powerpuffs x Rowdyruffs
1. Encounter

**I'd just like to say, thank you everyone who has been reading "Can I Be You?" As many of you know by now I have decided to rewrite the story to fit the character's personalities better and to fix up some of my old writing patterns. If you're new to the story, I hope you enjoy reading it ^^ **

**And if you've read my original copy you have nothing to worry about as far as rereading the new version. The main plot line is still the same, only the attitudes and speakers have changed. That's right, now you get to hear from everyone instead of just Brick X3 Because as much as I like Brick, after 20+ chapters I am tired of writing from his perspective. And chapters have been combined so that one new chapter may be about 4 old chapters.**

**Summary: The Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys are meant to be around 16 years old, give or take a year or two. The ingredients for the boys in this story are a mixture of the Powerpuff Girls Anime version and some of my own personal ideas while the original ingredients are referenced in the story.**

**Also, if you'd like to see how I picture them looking for this story you can find some pictures here: http:/jksketchy .deviantart ****.com/gallery/**** but you may have to look around for them.**

**~ Can I Be You? ~**

* * *

><p><em>I am the only being whose doom<br>No tongue would ask no eye would mourn__  
>I never caused a thought of gloom<br>A smile of joy since I was born_

Emily Bronte, I Am the Only Being (1836)

_"I cannot express it; but surely you and everybody have a notion that there is or should be an existence of yours beyond you. What were the use of my creation, if I were entirely contained here? …If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it... Nelly, __**I am Heathcliff**__! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being."_

Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights, Ch. 9

* * *

><p>Bubbles burst on the surface of a sinister mixture, fumes rising from their cores and out of the pot, tinting the air with a sickly light green smoke and toxic smell. The cauldron boiled as the ingredients were added one by one. First came a single hair clip, pink with a cherry heart in the center and a few strands of red hair still attached to the pin. Next was a bright sky blue ponytail holder with some blonde curls caught around the rubber elastic. Then a dark lock of hair was thrown into the concoction. A single bead of crimson blood, and the stage was set.<p>

The last ingredient, three drops of Chemical X, was added to the solution, and three new beings sparked to life.

A thick cloud of smog gushed from the pot, flooding the floor and blocking the lights from above with the gases that stained the air and made both vision impossible and breathing difficult. Coughs and rasping sounds came from within the haze.

Inside the clouds of toxic gas was a boy. He wore a burgundy sweatshirt with a solitary black line that ran horizontally across the center. His pants and shoes were a striking black as well, all except for the white of his shoe laces. On his head was a baseball cap that matched his shirt, which wore it backwards and a few locks of hair stuck out the hole above his forehead. A long, red ponytail protruded out below the rim of his hat behind his head.

The boy was kneeling, one foot planted firmly on the ground and his elbow propped up atop his knee. He coughed into the clenched fist which he held to his mouth. The fog stung his eyes and burned his throat. He cupped his hand around his mouth, attempting to make breathing less of a hassle, as he squinted ahead into the fog with crimson eyes.

He raised a hand to his forehead and groaned. He felt dizzy, perhaps from the fumes surrounding him. He wobbled a little as he struggled to stand, finding his balance to be far from accurate.

He looked up from the dense smoke to see a short primate standing in front of him. A white helmet with purple stripes and a metal band sat atop his head. There was an indigo cape tied around his neck and a cobalt vest that covered him from his shoulders to knees. He wore white boots, gloves, and a matching belt that stuck out from the rest of his attire. As he examined the monkey more closely, he noticed the creature lacked black fur on his face; instead his skin was light green, as were his pointy ears. He grinned at the boy with a full set of jagged teeth. The boy grimaced and stepped forward cautiously towards the creature and out of the smoke. He still held his forehead as he glared down at the monkey.

"Ah, my child," the monkey sighed happily as he placed a hand on the boy's arm.

The boy frown stretched as he looked down at the monkey's glove. "Hands off!" he grumbled as he swatted the paw away. "Who do you think you are anyway?"

But he primate merely smiled again with a chuckle and motioning back into the fog, "Ah, yes. Well perhaps you shoud go meet your brothers?"

"Brothers?" he turned to his right to see a dark figure making its way out of the smoke. Once the smog started to clear he could see that it was another boy, much like himself. They wore similar outfits; identical except for this boy wore a navy blue sweater instead of a scarlet one. He wore no hat, and his hair was blonde and much shorter, yet still longer than average. His bangs stuck out at the side and brushed against his ears. The new boy was bent over, coughing violently into both his hands. After a moment, the boy dressed in blue looked up at him with weary, bright cerulean eyes. Then his gaze settled in front of them on the well-dressed primate.

He coughed into his palm a few more times. "A monkey?" he managed to choke out.

"Why, yes, my children," the monkey smiled at them.

"Hey, we ain't no babies," the blond retorted before starting another coughing fit.

There was another gasping sound coming from the fog and this time both boys turned to look. Another boy staggered out of the gas with his arm around his face, coughing into his elbow as he stepped closer. Again, his outfit matched the other boys' except for the color, which was a dark emerald. His black, spiky hair stuck out in multiple directions, but stayed clear of his eyes. He glared ahead at the primate with eyes greener than jades.

"And I ain't related to no talkin' monkey," he coughed. All three boys turned to glare at the monkey standing proudly in front of them.

He chuckled, "Well, children..."

"And we aint 'children'!" the green boy yelled. The redhead exchanged a glance with him and he fell silent. The boy in red nodded to the monkey. "You were saying 'Pops'?"

The monkey cleared his throat, "Yes, well, you see, the Powerpuff Girls are so very annoying. They foil my plans every single time. So I thought, 'how can I beat them?" at this point the monkey started to pace, "And so I thought, and I thought, and I thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and-"

"Would you just get to the point already!" the brunette yelled again.

"Yeah," the red one agreed, "And what's with all this junk about the 'Powderpuff Girls'?"

The monkey continued to pace up and down the room as the boys watched him babble. "Yes, they are my arch enemies. I, Mojo Jojo, come up with the most ingenious plans to take over the world and they ruin them every time! I needed a way to get them rid of them! And so, after much thought and consideration, I decided to fight fire with fire. So I, Mojo Jojo, decided to make my own tougher, stronger version of the Powerpuff Girls!" He threw his arms up in the air with too much enthusiasm and pointed at the boys. "You."

The blonde boy dressed in blue stepped over to the one in green and whispered in his ear, "I think there's something wrong with this monkey."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no kidding idiot," he groaned back.

Then the redhead turned back to the monkey in front of them. "Okay Pops, so how exactly did you 'make' us?"

"Well, first I tried throwing some snips of hair, dead snails, and a puppy dog's tail in a rotting toilet in the Townsville jail, but it all just blew up in my face. So then, I retried the experiment, but this time I used Powerpuff DNA, along with a drop of Him's blood, and the extra dose of Chemical X and judging from the results, I'd say it worked out much better."

The boys made no attempt to hide their revulsion, the blond boy almost gagging while the brunette seemed to have a hard time getting his eye to stop twitching. The red boy just stared at the monkey with his mouth half open and his tongue sticking out, "What would make you think you could make _people_ out of that?" It was the dumbest thing he had ever heard of, worse than dumb. It didn't even sound reasonable.

The monkey just shrugged, "I don't know. Professor Utonium made little girls out of sugar, spice and everything nice, so I figured, 'why not?'."

The red boy smacked his forehead with his palm, "You have got to be the dumbest talking monkey I have ever met!"

The blue one looked over at him. "Well, he's the _only_ talking monkey _I've_ ever met…"

The green boy ignored them and continued talking to the deranged manic of a monkey. "So you made us just so we could go beat up some girls for ya?" All three boys turned to look at the monkey again.

"Right, exactly right," the monkey smiled evilly.

The boy in red raised an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest, "Sorry Pops, but the Rowdyruff Boys aren't about to go beat up a bunch of girls just 'cause some talking monkey told us to."

"The what?" the monkey asked, confused.

The red boy placed his palm on his head and adjusted his cap, "We're the Rowdyruff Boys."

The blue boy stepped forward. "Boomer."

"Brick," the red boy's eyes glinted.

The green boy punched the palm of his hand with his fist, "Butch."

"Well, why not?" he whined. "I made you! I'm your father! You should be listening to me!"

"What makes you think we would?" the boy dressed in red, Brick, challenged. He grabbed Mojo by his cape ties and held him up above the ground. Mojo didn't seem surprised.

"Well, I don't know, maybe because of…" Mojo reached into his pocket and pulled out a remote control, "THIS!"

The remote had four buttons on it: three lined up in a row: red, blue, and green, then a single, larger black button beneath the three. It had a small antenna on top, jet black to match the box itself.

Brick chuckled, "Yeah, what's that gonna do Pops?"

Mojo smirked and pressed the red button.

"AAAHHHHHHH!"

Immediately Brick released his grip on Mojo's cape and fell to his knees, his eyes shut tight. Pain. Lot's of it. It was like he was being electrocuted, sparks jumping through his veins and clustering in his heart as his limbs trembled. He dug his fingers into the floor, squeezing the tiles until they smashed. He could hear his brothers' , but they sounds miles away.

"Hey! Lay off ya freak!"

He forced his eyes open to see Butch charging at Mojo, ready to ram him into the wall with his emerald streak trailing behind him. Even though it would only take Butch a split second to reach Mojo, he didn't quite make it. Brick heard his brother cry as he fell to the floor, just a few feet short of his mark. Brick squinted up to see Mojo standing above them, holding down both their buttons.

"Guys!" Boomer yelled. He raced up to them just as Butch had and met the same fate, screeching to a halt on the floor. Brick glanced over to see Boomer's cobalt streak fade and his brother lying right beside him, sparks flying from his body. Mojo now held all three buttons, and all three boys were on their knees, bowing to him.

"Now then," Mojo began proudly. Brick glared up at him from his place on the floor. "You shall do as I say, will you not?"

Brick glanced from Boomer to Butch, his brothers, writhing in agony. They looked up at him, waiting for his answer. Brick gritted his teeth, the pain was unbearable and he would do anything to make it stop. Even concede defeat to a freak show like Mojo.

"ALRIGHT!" he yelled, and Mojo released the buttons. All three Rowdyruff Boys fell limply to the ground, motionless, recovering from the device. Brick felt the cold flooring against his cheek and it stung. He lifted his head at the sound of a chuckle. Mojo was grinning evilly above him.

"Now, my boys, you have a few Powerpuffs to find."

* * *

><p>Boomer continued to streak through the sky with his hair occasionally blowing back into his eyes. How long had he been up there? A few hours at least. He was getting tired of flying around the city all by himself while his brothers ran through the streets instead.<p>

Maybe they would join him, "Hey, guys!"

Boomer landed on the roof of a building near where his brothers had stopped. Brick and Butch look up at him. "Why don't you fly with me? It's pretty easy to see all over the city from up here."

Brick shrugged. "Eh, I'd rather run instead. I don't like flying very much." he replied, leaving a red streak behind him as he darted down anther street.

Butch chuckled, "Yeah, and it makes ya look girly floating around up there."

Boomer scowled down at Butch; he was always picking on him. Then he noticed Brick come back around the corner and decided to float down to join them.

Brick shook his head. "Still no sign of them," he reported.

Butch's eyebrows knitted together, "How are we even supposed to know what they look like?" he complained.

Boomer landed down next to Butch, "Mojo said we'd know when we saw them."

"It doesn't make any sense though," Brick added. "I mean, not that anything he does makes any sense, but what exactly did he mean by you'll know when you find them?"

Boomer just shrugged and Butch's eyes tightened a little. He folded his arms together, "Who does that freak think he is anyway, bossing us around like this."

"He thinks he's the chimp with the shock collars," Brick answered harshly.

Butch met Brick's gaze, his eyes still hard. "Well, what are we gonna do about it?" Boomer was staring at Brick too, looking for an answer to their problem. He'd rather not be forced to run errands for Mojo.

Brick glanced and Boomer, then back to Butch in confusion. "Why are you asking me?"

"You're the leader, aren't you?" Boomer asked. Butch didn't respond, he just continued to glare.

Brick seemed a little surprised by what Boomer said. But Brick was the leader wasn't he? At least Boomer didn't wanna be in charge, and he defiantly didn't want Butch to be either with the way he mocked him all the time.

Brick didn't answer at first, looking a little lost in thought, before his expression brightened and turned into a conniving smirk. "We'll take care of it later."

That obviously wasn't going to be good enough for Butch. "When later?" he urged.

Brick smiled. "Tonight. We'll just get the jump on him and take it. How hard can it be to steal from a monkey? Besides, we have super powers, in case you hadn't noticed."

Butch smirked and nodded, seeming satisfied with the idea. Boomer grinned; maybe getting the upper hand on Mojo wouldn't be so hard.

Brick was happy too, "For now we should work on finding these Powerpuff Girls. Mojo will know something's up if we come back without completing his orders."

"Yeah…" Boomer looked down at his feet; he wasn't too thrilled about that part.

Brick caught the worry in his voice, as did Butch who raised an eyebrow at his concern, "What's with you?"

"It's just strange," he muttered, trying to defend himself. "I mean, we don't even know these girls and Mojo wants us to... I mean, how much trouble could these girls be, anyway?" They were just girls weren't they? Why would Mojo want a couple of little girls out of the way so badly?

Brick seemed to actually consider what Boomer had said, but Butch just shrugged nonchalantly. He unfolded his arms only to refold them together again behind his head. "The monkey's got some sorta reason for having us do this, and besides, they're just girls. Taking them down won't be that hard." He grinned in arrogance.

Boomer looked up at Butch from under his bangs, and Butch's smug smile faded, "Well yeah, I know. But what I meant was..." Boomer turned to Brick before finishing, "...do you really think we should..." he trailed off, not really wanting to finish the sentence. He could be such a wimp sometimes…

"Kill them?" Boomer shivered slightly when Butch finished for him. Always blunt.

Boomer looked back to Brick, hoping he would have a reasonable answer. He just wasn't the killing type… He could fight and all, not like Butch though. Butch could take on the entire A.W.S.M. single handedly. Boomer wasn't quite that ruthless.

"For now let's just find them," Brick decided at last, "We can't do anything about it if we can't find them. And if we do find them maybe we can get them to tell us why Mojo wants them out of the picture so bad."

Boomer's concern eased a little and he nodded as the three Rowdyruff brothers split up to search the streets in three separate flashes of light. They raced through lights, glanced in windows, and swerved around skyscrapers one by one. Boomer took to the skies again after a couple blocks; the wind in his face helped him calm down a little. After anther hours or two the sun started to set. It was getting late, and Boomer guessed that Mojo wasn't the patient type.

He glanced down to the streets to see that Brick was a little ways in front of him, but had stopped running. Boomer flew towards him with Butch coming up on his right. He landed beside him, "This isn't working."

"Yeah," Butch agreed. "We've searched the whole city, three times over and still haven't found anything."

Brick didn't say anything, he just looked at the ground. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Hey!"

But the voice that reached the Rowdyruff Boys did not belong to him.

Boomer's eyes widened and he looked up. Hovering about twenty feet in the sky in front of them were three girls, each one with a bright streak behind them that was a much lighter than his and his brothers': bright pink, baby blue, and lime green. The girls were each wearing clothing that matched their streaks as well, and each of their dresses had a thick black line around the center, just like the Rowdyruff sweaters.

On the far left, a girl wearing a sky blue dress stared innocently down at the boys with bright, sapphire eyes. Her golden blonde hair was tied back into short pigtails at either side of her head. Next to her was a redhead dressed in pink. Her long hair flowed down behind her and a big, red bow sat atop her head. She glared down at them with rosy pink eyes. The girl wearing green floated next to her and had striking black hair that was cut short and stuck up at the ends. She glowered down at them harshly with bright, light green eyes.

These girls, whoever they were, they were exactly like him and his brothers.

The three Rowdyruffs just stared dumbstruck, wide eyed and speechless.

The girls floated down and landed a few feet in front of the boys. The pink girl in the center spoke again, her arms folded across her chest, "Who are you?"

Boomer just continued to stare at the blonde girl in blue, confused and surprised and… and…

Furious?

Boomer's eyes instantly started burning. He lifted his hand to cover his face, but then his muscles went tense and he found himself filling with an overwhelming anger.

What was going on?

* * *

><p>For a single, long, painful second, the Rowdyruff Boys stared at the girls who had just landed in front of them.<p>

Just

One

Second.

Brick shuddered. His eyes were first; a searing pain that made him instinctively want to close his eyes but he found he could not look away. He felt his heart hammering in his chest, his pulse vibrating through his arms and echoing in his ears. Staring at this girl, this little red-headed, pink wearing whoever she was, it was killing him from the inside out.

Brick's head was swimming, filling with rage, with bloodlust. Who was this… this girl. What was she doing here? How dare she be here. How dare she be… be anywhere. How dare she be… alive.

It had only been one second, hadn't it. Just one.

And then that second ended, along with Brick's self control.

He shot towards the girl instantly in a brilliant streak of red light and rammed into her, slamming her into the ground. Dust and dirt filled the air, blinding him, and once it cleared she was nowhere to be found.

Not that it was a problem for him. He turned back sprang into the fog, knowing she'd be there, and bounded into her yet again. This time, she dodged out of the way and Brick flew a few yards past before circling around and coming back again but this time instead of just merely bounding into her he tried to punch her in the head. When Brick threw his fist at her, she did the last thing he would've expected. She didn't cry, she didn't fall, and she didn't run away. She didn't even get hit. She just brought her arm up and knocked it into his, causing him to miss his mark.

She blocked him. She blocked him perfectly.

How dare she… make a fool of him.

Brick swung at the girl again and again, but every time she matched his move without fault. They continued for some time, Brick constantly throwing punches at the pink girl and always missing. He could vaguely hear the sound of a voice as her lips moved, but he was too far gone, too engulfed in his hatred, to make out what she was saying. His thoughts were still wrapped around, 'how dare she this' and 'how dare she that'. Everything felt so unreal, like he was numb, like he was dreaming, like he wasn't really there, and his body was moving of its own accord as he watched from the sidelines. He knew exactly what he was doing, but he wasn't able to think through anything clearly enough. He wasn't really thinking at all.

He was just fighting.

He continued to swing at the girl mindlessly, who at this point was beginning to appear overwhelmed by his attack. Then he attempted something he hadn't yet. He swung his foot around and struck her leg, causing her to fall back, but not quite down. Before she had a chance to recover from the kick, Brick tried slamming her into the ground one more time. And he succeeded.

Once again a cloud of dirt filled the air around them and Brick rose from his place on the ground. He glanced down and grinned wickedly at the girl as she lied in a mound of dirt, unconscious. Her eyes were closed and her mouth slightly open, hair sticking out from her ruby bow.

He smiled wider. She wouldn't be able to block him now. He knelt down next to her, raised his arm, and swung down harder than any punch he'd thrown yet.

And stopped in mid swing.

* * *

><p>Butch stared wide eyed at the girls whose throat was clamped firmly in his fist. Just firmly enough to keep her in a standing position now that she was knocked out, not the death grip he'd been using before and certainly not the crushing blow he wanted to use now.<p>

He gritted his teeth. He's wanted to snap her neck. To claw it out. To end it. Now.

But he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, his muscles weren't responding to him anymore. This was as tight as he could squeeze, and she was still breathing as though he wasn't still latched to her neck.

He was going mad. He was shacking, trembling. He _needed_ to kill her. That was all he needed to do, nothing else mattered then other than ending her pathetic life.

But he couldn't. As much as his body burned, as much as his head was bounding, as much as he wanted it all to be over, he was physically incapable of doing anymore damage to her. No matter how hard he tried.

"ARGH! You stupid, idiot, son of a… ARGH!"

Butch let the brunette girl fall to the ground and he instead punched a hole straight through the brick wall he'd been holding her up against. It didn't help much, only a very little. He felt the pain of his knuckles against the stone ever so slightly, and it was beginning to bring him out of his trance.

"Boomer!"

Butch spun around to face Brick as he called to Boomer who was lying in a mound of dirt next to the blonde in blue. What he crying? What a wus.

Boomer looked up at the sound of his name and stood up to join them. "I...I don't know what happened," he muttered.

"So you guys felt it too, didn't you?" Brick asked, shifting his gaze to Butch. "You wanted to kill them."

"Yeah. It was seriously messed up. I wasn't thinking at all," Butch replied angrily. If he was gonna fight someone to the death, he would at least like to be aware of it.

Boomer nodded in agreement. He was holding his arm and his eyes still watered. Wimp.

"Oh, quit being such a baby Boomer," Butch griped. "We did what Mojo wanted, didn't we?"

"No," Brick interrupted sternly, "I know the one I was fighting is still alive."

Boomer nodded. "Yeah, she's not dead either…"

Brick glanced back at Butch, "Don't you still feel it?"

"Of course I do!" he snapped, his eyes flaring up again. "It hurts like hell!"

It may have faded, but that rage, that power, it was still there. And he could still feel the presence of that accursed girl that way slumped against the remains of the brick wall a few yards back.

"Butch," he called. Butch raised his head when Brick beckoned to him. Brick gestured with his head to the blonde lying on the other side of him. "You wanna try and finish off Boomer's girl."

Butch glanced over to the girl Brick had referred to, then to Brick again with a grin, "Sure, if Boomer doesn't mind." Maybe taking care of the blondie would be good enough. Though he doubted it.

Butch and Brick turned to Boomer. He shook his head. "It's fine..." Butch smirked.

"Alright then," Butch flew back a ways, maybe 100 feet or so. He needed to get a running start if he wanted to do this right, if he wanted to have fun with this. He took another step back before crouching into a runner's starting position, one leg up and his fingertips brushing the ground on either side.

"Are you ready yet?" Butch looked up to see Brick eyeing his with mock disinterest, his arms folded across his chest.

"Don't rush me!" he yelled back, but Brick just rolled his eyes.

He eyed his mark for a moment, a smirk gracing his face, and took off in a flash of green light. He was accelerating much faster than he probably should, but he was hoping to drive at her and form a new grand canyon where the street used to be.

But then he hit something, a blond, blue something, and he fell back and landed rather harshly on his backside.

The air was once again filled with dirt, making sight close to impossible. Butch bent his neck, cracking it once on his left and then a second time on his right. That wasn't the blue, blonde thing he had been trying to hit.

"Idiot! What's wrong with you!" Butch yelled.

Brick stumbled through the dust, eventually making his way over to Butch who was lying on his back, propped up on his elbows and facing the direction he had been running in. Brick looked where Butch had been glaring to see Boomer standing in front of the blue girl, arms crossed, forming a shield over his face. His cerulean eyes blazed with anger, then faded and changed to a look of confusion. He blinked with misunderstanding a few times and turned around to see the blonde girl lying behind him.

"Boomer!" Brick yelled and Boomer's head shot towards him. "What was that for!"

Boomer rubbed his arm shyly, "I...I don't know. I didn't mean to...I...i-it just happened..." He glanced back again at the girl he'd just protected before his eyes fell to the ground in front of him.

Butch gave Brick a strange look before turning back to the redhead. Butch just groaned and shook his head, possibly hoping any thoughts of the brunette girl would fall out his ears or something. It was still driving him crazy.

Then Brick started walking away, "Come on, let's get out of here."

Butch rose from his seat on the ground. "So whaddo we tell Mojo?" Boomer looked over to Brick like a lost puppy waiting for his master to tell him to sit. Butch rolled his eyes.

A smile began to form on Brick's face, though Butch had no idea why, "That depends..."

Butch raised an eyebrow, "On what?"

Brick stopped walking for a moment, turning around to face Butch again, "On what he tells us. I don't know about you guys, but I've got a few questions for that talking monkey. He's the one who sent us after those girls. He knew we'd attack them the way we did, and I want to know too."

Butch's eyes narrowed in agreement. "That freaky monkey's got a lotta explaining to do!"

Boomer nodded curtly in agreement, "Yeah, that monkey's got a lotta explaining to do!"

Brick rolled his eyes, "Boomer, don't repeat what Butch says. You'll sound like an idiot."

"Yeah," Butch agreed instantly, then thought over Brick's word again for a minute and realized another implication to what he'd said. "Hey!"

Brick rushed off in a blaze of crimson light, followed by Butch and Boomer. They darted through the city once again, swerving around buildings and dodging citizens as they ran, becoming more aware of their surroundings and less aware of the girls all the while. The world began to feel less and less surreal as their ability to reason returned and their control resurfaced.

Barely a second later they were standing at Mojo's door atop the volcano. Butch didn't bother to knock; he just balled his hand up into a fist and shrouded it in a jade light before he threw a punch at the entrance. On contact, the door burst from its hinges and fell to the ground with a thunk, now bearing a rather large dent in the center.

Brick stepped into the doorway. "MOJO!"

* * *

><p>Mojo walked into the foyer after hearing the noise, "What the-?" He stared at the door on the floor, and then glared coldly at his visitors. He walked towards them as he spoke, waving his index finger in the air. "How dare you bust down my door! This is my house! As to say, this is my property, meaning that it is not yours to break. I had that door specially imported from Hong-Kong. It's 100% titanium steel and finished with a silver coating. That is my—"<p>

"Shut up!" Butch yelled.

Surprisingly, Mojo did as he was told and looked up in shock. Brick glowered down at him, grabbing Mojo by his vest collar and pulling him up so they were at eye level.

"Talk!"

Mojo glared back at him, "That makes no sense! First you tell me to 'shut up', now you tell me to talk. That is not possible as talking creates noise, which goes against your original request of shutting up, and thus-"

"Not about that, ya stupid monkey!" Brick shook Mojo with exasperation before flinging him to the ground. "Who are the Powerpuff Girls?"

Mojo sat up and continued to glare at Brick. "You mean you didn't find them?"

"No, we found them," Butch protested.

Brick's glare tightened, "Who are they? Why do they look like us?"

Mojo stood and brushed himself off before shrugging as he turned to leave, ignoring Brick's question. "Well, if you did indeed find them, then your verb tense is incorrect. And it doesn't matter who they _were_. They have been mutilated, hence forth eliminated, as in dead."

"But they're not dead!" Butch groaned.

Mojo stopped in his tracks and peered back at the boys over his shoulder, "What do you mean, 'they're not dead'?"

Brick folded his arms together, "How many things could 'they're not dead' possibly mean? And here I thought you were the captain of the literal brigade."

"But if you met with them, then they should no longer be living!" Mojo insisted.

Boomer pushed his way around Brick. "So you knew that would happen!" he accused.

Mojo raised an eyebrow. "What would happen?"

"You knew we would attack them instantly," Brick insisted.

Mojo nodded, rubbing his chin with a smile. "I had hoped you would, but it was merely a theory. But then how could they still alive if my theory was correct?"

Butch's fists tightened. "Cause we couldn't finish them off..."

"They defeated you?"

Butch's eyes flared, "No!"

Mojo eyed Brick and Boomer suspiciously. "Then what happened?"

All three brothers exchanged a look of concern. Boomer's wide eyes were filled with worry while Butch's hard gaze expressed defeat. Brick wasn't completely sure what their opinions on the matter were, but he did know one thing: don't trust talking monkeys. More specifically, not to trust this talking monkey.

Brick turned back to Mojo, "First, you've got a few things to tell us."

Mojo glared defiantly at the boys. "What?"

"Everything you know about the Powerpuff Girls," he specified.

Mojo groaned, "All right fine, if you need to know come with me."

Mojo turned back to the door he had come through with the Rowdyruff Boys following behind him. As they passed through the doorway, the boys turned to a gigantic supercomputer. Dozens of screens of many different sizes connected together above a panel of buttons, knobs, switches and levers to make up the central mainframe. Mojo walked up to the processor and fiddled with the gadgets until the pictures on every screen formed together to create three images: the three girls the Rowdyruff boys had attacked earlier.

Mojo turned his back to the monitors and faced the boys, "These girls, which you should know by now, and the Powerpuff Girls. I'm hoping this is who you tried to kill, otherwise I am sorry to say you are the biggest screw ups I've have ever invented."

At this, Butch stepped forward with his arm pulled back, ready to leave a rather large dent in Mojo's helmet, but Brick his arm out and gave him a glare. Butch seemed to calm down slightly, still obviously mad at Mojo regardless.

"Yes, that would be them," Brick confirmed.

"Then I shall continue," Mojo stepped up to the first screen and tapped the foot of the girl in the blue dress, "This is Bubbles. She is the most gentle of the three. However, if you push her too hard, she can become aggressive. She is the only Powerpuff Girl who can speak Spanish, along with talking to animals. Boomer," Mojo paused briefly to turn to the blue Rowdyruff boy, "you were produced from her ponytail holder."

Butch laughed before being called out by Mojo. "Butch!" His amusement vanished and he gave the monkey his full attention. Mojo walked over to the other end of the line of screens to point at the girl in green. "This is Buttercup. She is the strongest of the three. She has no unique powers like Bubbles that I know of; nevertheless, she can be overly brutal and aggressive. Butch, you were made from a lock of her hair."

Butch rubbed his head in thought as he stared at the screen. Brick turned to see Boomer doing the same but with a more innocent expression then Butch's glowering.

"Brick."

Brick looked forward to see Mojo standing below the last girl; the pink girl he had attacked.

"This is Blossom," Mojo informed. "She is the leader of the Powerpuff Girls. She enjoys learning to a great extent, which makes her the most intelligent of the girls. She is clever, and quick-witted, and constantly foils my plains. Brick, you were created from one of her hair clips."

Brick scanned over the screen, finding that he had subconsciously reached back and grabbed his ponytail. He was created from this girl's DNA? The one he'd just been trying so hard to kill? She fit the description Mojo had given him, clever, intelligent, leader… She'd been the first to step up and say something to him. She had also been a pretty good fighter up until the end. Not great, just good. Not that it really mattered either. Mojo would most likely send them out to fight the Powerpuffs again, and they'd all probably wind up dead.

"So, any more questions?" Mojo asked in annoyance.

Brick broke from his reverie and looked down at Mojo. "Why did we attack them instantly?"

Mojo sighed. "It would most likely be because you were given a dose of Him's blood before you were created."

Butch raised an eyebrow, "Who's him?"

Mojo turned back to the controls and brought up a picture of a red creature wearing a winter coat with pink fur around the collar, and a black belt clipped around his waist. He possessed claws instead of hands and pointed ears similar to an elf. He had boots that reached up to where his coat ended, and a small, curly beard forming at the tip of his pointed chin. His hair was cut short and makeup covered his face. In short, he looked like the king of crossdressers.

"Who's that?" Butch asked, disgusted.

Mojo gestured to the computer screen. "That's Him."

"But who's him?" Brick asked.

"Him's him!" Mojo insisted.

Boomer raised an eyebrow, "Who's 'Himhim'?"

Mojo gritted his teeth, "Enough! This, this monster right here, this is Him. Not to say he is the person I am speaking of, but that his name is Him, which is what he is known by. Him: capital H-I-M!"

"Wait, so we were created from Powerpuff hair and...'Him's' blood?" Brick clarified.

"Yes," Mojo sighed.

Each Rowdyruff made a face of disgust. Boomer's nose wrinkled and Butch stuck out his tongue. "Why would you try to make us out of blood and hair?" Butch asked sarcastically.

"Well, I tried my blood originally, being that I am the most evil being ever to exist, but instead I ended up creating monkeys, so I turned to the next evilest creature I could think of," he answered. Brick rolled his eyes, not bothering to re-ask Butch's question that had not received an actual answer.

Boomer's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "But that still doesn't explain why we instantly attacked the Powerpuff Girls."

Mojo rubbed his chin, "Well, Him's blood can be considered unstable, meaning that the side effects of using it are uncertain. However, I'd hypothesized a particular reaction…"

"Him's blood can cause abnormal reactions in monsters and people. Him once attempted to defeat the Powerpuff Girls by turning their loved ones against them, which was caused by a combination of mind control and the implantation of DNA. You see, if he had merely taken over their minds, then he would have needed to control each of their movements on his own, which he was unwilling to do, and so he placed minute amounts of DNA within them, causing them to act evilly towards the Powerpuff Girls without Him needing to control each and every action, which wore off after the Powerpuffs defeated him."

"Therefore, I theorized that you would instinctively attack the girls. When you encountered them, Him's blood must have taken over and caused you to attack them without thinking."

Boomer still wasn't satisfied with Mojo's answer, "But why did-"

Brick stopped Boomer from asking his question by nudging him in the side with his elbow. He didn't want to see Boomer get shocked again for protecting Bubbles, even if he didn't know why.

Mojo glared suspiciously at Brick and Boomer, "Why did what?" he insisted.

"Why couldn't we finish them off?" Butch finished. Brick was relieved to hear Butch ask a different question, one that wouldn't result in Boomer's punishment."

But then he worried in might result in a punishment for them all. "What do you mean by 'you couldn't finish them off'?" Mojo questioned.

Brick decided to take over. "He means, once the Powerpuff Girls were defenseless, no matter how many attacks we threw, we were incapable of hitting them."

"Yeah," Boomer agreed, "every punch we threw stopped short."

Mojo rubbed his chin and paced up and down the room in deep thought. Great, not this again, Brick thought to himself. Eventually Mojo began to mumble something to himself, mostly incoherent jumbles of "DNA" and "added more…" After a few more moments of pacing and muttering, Mojo addressed the trio again. "Now then, you boys should be getting off to bed."

"...bed?" Butch questioned.

"Yes, follow me," Mojo walked past the boys and through another doorway on the other side of the corridor. They followed behind him into the next room, which was relatively smaller than the last. In front of them were three containment chambers. They turned to see Mojo standing next to a control panel beside the door.

"What are those for?" Boomer asked.

"These are where you will be sleeping," Mojo answered.

Brick glanced at the capsules, and then raised an eyebrow at Mojo. "You've got to be kidding," he insisted.

"What?" Mojo asked, confused.

"You don't expect us to sleep in there! We're not zoo animals!" Butch practically yelled.

"Watch your language, young man!" Mojo scolded lightly, waving a finger at Butch as all three Rowdyruffs looked at each other with uncertainty.

Mojo smiled. "Now," The boys turned back to him.

"It's time for bed!" he pressed one of the buttons on the control pad and all three boys were zapped by lasers that appeared out of the wall behind them, knocking them into the chambers. Glass lids slid shut in front of them and Brick turned back to Mojo. "What's the big idea!"

Mojo walked proudly to stand before the red boy's prison. "I once used those lasers to hold the Powerpuff Girls hostage, but they escaped due to that stupid Professor Utonium," he muttered in a reminiscent tone.

Brick glared at Mojo fiercely until his eyes began to glow and lasers shot out at the glass wall separating them.

"And I used a material similar to this when everyone in Townsville switched bodies too, but I have made some adjustments since then. Ah, good times… Now, the cells are blocked off by glass walls that have been embedded with Duranium, causing your powers to become useless." Mojo added.

Brick pretended not to hear him; he just continued to futilely blast the lid of the chamber. He could hear his brothers' crashing against the walls of their cages.

Brick ceased blasting for a moment to see Mojo leaving the room. He heard Butch yell next to him "Hey! Get back here!", but Mojo continued until he was out of sight without so much as a glance back at them.

For hours the boys tried futilely to get out of their prisons: punches, kicks, lasers, blasts, sonic sounds, power spheres, everything in their arsenal of power, but their attacks made no difference. The glass refused to break.

Brick slumped against the back wall of his cell, defeated. He looked to his left and used his x-ray vision to see into Boomer's cell. He was curled up in the corner, holding his knees. Tears fell slowly down his cheeks.

"Hey, Boomer..." Brick murmured. Boomer looked up towards his brother with curious eyes. "How you doing?" he asked.

Boomer just nodded and placed his head on his knees. Brick felt his cage shake as Butch rammed the door again.

"Would ya give it a rest, Butch?" Brick asked with half interest.

Butch didn't answer; he just gritted his teeth before pounding into the lid again, then sliding to the cold, metal floor without a word.

Brick turned back to Boomer, "Why ya crying, Boomer?"

"Boomer's crying again?" Butch asked sarcastically, "Great, so what else is new?"

"Shut up Butch," Brick ordered before turning back to Boomer, "Well?"

Boomer shrugged and turned his head away from Brick, "I...I'm afraid. I don't wanna lose control again." Boomer looked back at Brick, "I mean, are we sure we're even doing the right thing? Why would Mojo want us to kill the Powerpuff Girls?"

Butch smirked without humor, "'Cause big, bad Blossom outsmarts him all the time."

Boomer sighed, "But those girls we fought today...they were just like us. We were even created from them."

"Yeah, so what" Butch muttered, "We're still gonna wanna kill them if he sends us out. What should we do about that?" he turned to Brick.

Brick shrugged, "What can we do? You're right Butch, for once. We'll probably just go crazy again if we see the Powerpuff Girls, and if we don't do whatever Mojo wants then he'll zap us..."

"But I thought we were gonna steal his shock remote," Boomer added.

Butch glared at him. "Well, we can't exactly do that from inside cages now can we?"

Brick sighed. "Just go to sleep guys. We'll figure something out tomorrow."

Boomer lied down on the bottom of his cell and fell asleep relatively quickly despite the freezing floor. Butch just leaned against the side of his prison and shut his eyes tightly. Brick did the same. Before slipping away into dream land, he thought back to his fight with Blossom. She'd fought better than he'd expected, but then again he hadn't originally expected to be fighting super powered girls. Did she know anything about them? About Mojo's plan? About how they were created? She'd seemed surprised enough to see them, probably even more surprised to be attacked by them, but paying attention to her expression wasn't exactly something Brick had been focusing on at the time.

Brick's gaze was set absentmindedly in front of him, his eyelids half open. He imagined Blossom's picture that Mojo had displayed on the monitors earlier. Who was she? If they shared DNA, did that mean they acted the same too? She fought as well as he did, she'd matched his moves without fault until Brick had let himself fall deeper into Him's control.

He sighed and shook his head. He wanted to be able to go ask the Powerpuff Girls about everything. They might even have an answer for some of the Rowdyruff Boy's problems. Then an idea sparked in his head. Mojo had cussed about Blossom foiling his plans over and over again, so maybe the Powerpuff Girls would be able to help him and his brothers escape from Mojo too.

Brick nodded to himself before drifting off into unconsciousness. Tomorrow, the Rowdyruff Boys were going to have another encounter with the Powerpuff Girls.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading ^^<strong>


	2. Recap

**Hi everyone ^^ This chapter is new even to those of you who may have read the original story. Sorry it's shorter than the last chapter though. Hope you like it! And please review, critiques are always thanks everyone who reviewed the last chapter! ^^**

* * *

><p>Blossom groaned. She felt that her body was lying in an awkward way; her back arched, one leg bent to the side. It was like she was lying in a pile of rubble with a giant mound just beneath her. Not that it wasn't to be expected after what she'd just been through.<p>

She tried to sit up, feeling a sharp pain in her side where her muscles flexed. She then tried to push herself up with her arms, but her left arm wouldn't move. She tried wiggling her figures and a wave of hurt flood through her up to her shoulder.

Damage analysis: A fractured Ulna on her left and up to two broken ribs.

She somehow manage to prop herself up with just her right arm. Ow, moving was painful. She hoped her super healing would kick in soon, but she figured it would still be a while before her broken bones would heal. She'd probably have to learn to fall asleep with the injuries and hope they would be fully healed by the morning.

After managing to get herself into a sitting position, she searched the area with her super vision for her sisters. It had gotten late and the city was already far into the night. Whoever those ruffians were, they'd left a lot of damage. Surrounding her were the remains of what looked to be a streetlight, a public mailbox, and a smashed up Pontiac. Past the car and to her right the once heated asphalt curled up to make room for a gaping hole at the intersection of Lincoln and Main street right next to the Right on Time Diner.

Blossom zoomed in on the hole and scanned the area around it. Gaping holes in the streets had become an obvious sign of an ended fight in Townsville, so one of her sisters had to be over there somewhere.

After thoroughly examination the crater and not finding either of her sisters, she checked the surrounding area. It didn't take her long to spot the curled up ball of blue lying on her side. Bubbles.

"Bub-" Blossom had tried to call out to her, but her throat was filled with dirt and smoke from the fight and she was sore, making yelling difficult. She levitated into a standing position, feeling the full pain of her ribs as she set her feet on the ground. She quickly took to the air again and hovered over to join her sister. She never realized how hard flying could be after all of your energy was gone.

"Bubbles…" she choked, as she descended into a sitting position again next to her. She wanted to try to nudge her awake, but she wasn't sure where she had been hurt and she didn't want to shake her leg or arm if it was broken.

She settled for placing her hand between her shoulder and her neck, "Bubbles… hey, Bubbles. Wake up."

"Blossom… Bubbles… Hey?"

Blossom looked around to the sound of Buttercups voice. It sounded strained, much more so than her own. Then she noticed her bright green eyes glowing in the darkness. She seemed to be having a hard time walking, dragging one leg behind her as she kept one hand around her throat. She was limping; Blossom could barely believe it.

Eventually Buttercup all but fell to the ground next to her and Bubbles, making sure to fall on her good leg.

"What happened to you?" Blossom asked, "And why are you holding your neck?"

"It hurts, why else would I be holding it," she answered curtly.

"Well let go and let me see it at least," Blossom ordered, gently pushing Buttercup's had away.

Blossom gasped. Buttercup's neck was covered in long, purple bruises with three along her right side and one shorter one on her left. Sure it wasn't like she was expecting the best, but she certainly hadn't been expecting this. It was like someone had tried to strangle her.

"What?" Buttercup asked. "It's not like I can see it, so how bad does it look?"

"It looks…" Blossom could barely find words to describe it. It wasn't like they bruised or broke bones often. She sighed, "It looks pretty bad Buttercup. You've got some pretty dark bruises."

Buttercup scowled at the ground, covering her throat with her hand again. "Dammit…" she huffed, "I should've been able to take him."

"Buttercup…"

"Don't get all over my case about how I talk right now Blossom alright," she snapped. "This wasn't supposed to happen. We're the Powerpuff Girls. We're not supposed to lose."

"Be happy that we only lost the fight Buttercup," Blossom muttered. Buttercup might not have been paying attention to their opponents, but she had been. "There was something wrong with those guys."

"No duh," Buttercup spat back.

"Would you just listen for once in your life!" Blossom was getting fed up with this. For all they knew those boys they'd fought before could jump out of nowhere at anytime.

"You… you think they tried to kill us?"

Blossom looked back down at Bubbles to see that she had woken up, slightly teary eyed and obviously worried. As Buttercup should be, but wasn't.

Blossom sighed and felt the poke of her broken rib again, but Buttercup interrupted her before she could say anything, "That's just crazy Red. We don't even know who they are. Why would they want to kill us? What have we done to them?"

"Their motive doesn't matter right now," Blossom insisted. "I don't know why they would want to kill us, but I just have a feeling that they did. Buttercup," she turned to her sister, "You may have noticed this too, but the way they were fighting. Sure, they were unbelievably quick, but they were sloppy."

Buttercup nodded, "Now that you mention it, they were. That freak I was fighting just kept throwing punches over and over again, one after another," Buttercup began punching the air as she explained, "But he missed more than half the time."

Blossom nodded, "Exactly. Whatever reason they had for fighting us, they were fighting out of rage. They wanted to knock us out as fast as possible, but they didn't bother to think of a strategy of any kind."

"You know, not everyone is as strategy obsessed as you are," Buttercup noted sarcastically.

Blossom glared at her, "That's beside the point. Even you don't go around throwing punches into thin air. You concentrate on your opponent and, sometimes, you will actually wait for an opening." Buttercup folded her arms together and returned to glaring at the ground. "No," Blossom insisted, "They were fighting us out of hate, and it made them careless."

"But we still lost," Bubbles murmured as she sat up, gingerly holding up her right arm.

"Because we weren't prepared," Blossom admitted.

"Oh no," Buttercup began, "Don't go blaming this on us. You got knocked out too."

Blossom glared at Buttercup, "I'm not blaming it on any one person. We all let our guard down."

"What you excepted us to know that they had superpowers too?" Buttercup grumbled.

"Well, if you'd been paying attention, you would've seen that one of them had been flying." Buttercup didn't say anything after that, turning away just as angry as ever.

"But there's something else," Blossom glanced over to Bubbles who was now the only one giving her full attention. "Those guys were exactly like us."

Buttercup snorted, "Yeah right. I don't look anything like that punk."

"Buttercup, you look exactly like him."

Buttercup opened her mouth to speak, but Bubbles started before her, "He did look an awful lot like you Buttercup… You guys even have the same hair and eyes color."

"So what? You and the guy that beat you up both had blond hair and blue eyes too," Buttercup retorted. "There's thousands of people like that."

"But bright green eyes and black hair?" Blossom questioned. "And there are very few people with red hair, let alone red eyes to match."

"That's right," Bubbles gasped. "He did have red eyes."

Blossom nodded, "There's something fishing going on around here, and we need to find out what."

"I bet Mojo's behind it again…" Buttercup mumbled.

"Whoever's behind it, those boys must be related to us in some way. They could be just as powerful as us and there's no telling what they might do. That makes them top priority."

Bubbles looked down at her right arm which appeared to be hurt in some way, most likely broken like Blossom's was, "So… we're gonna have to fight them again?"

"Most likely," Blossom nodded.

"What? You scared?" Buttercup taunted.

"I'm not scared!" Bubbles insisted.

"Well I can't wait to find those thugs again," Buttercup grinned. "I don't care who they are or where they came from. There's no way I'm losing to those nut jobs again. I'll make sure to give them an extra painful heinie whooping. "

Blossom rolled her eyes, knowing there wasn't anything she could say to make her sister change her mind, "Just be ready for anything."

"So now what do we do?" Bubbles asked.

Blossom lifted herself off the ground and into the air. She was happy to find that her ribs seemed to be healing already, but only a very little. "Let's head home," she said. "The Professor must be worried."

"Yeah," Buttercup agreed. "Let's get going."

* * *

><p>Buttercup held the door open for both Blossom and Bubbles since she'd been the first one to land, and they'd each broken an arm. It had taken them much longer than usual to make it back because of their injuries and depleted energy. Sure enough, Blossom was right again; the professor was sitting front and center on the couch, staring at the door with rather large bags under his eyes and a cup of coffee in his hand.<p>

"Girls!" he yelled in astonishment, almost spilling his drink, "What happened? You said you were just going around on patrol and I thought you'd be right back. But you're a mess! What happened to you?"

Blossom smiled encouragingly at him, as did Buttercup. "It's fine Professor, really. It's no big deal."

Buttercup could see that Blossom didn't want to make the Professor worry about their newly made enemies, so she decided to play along with the nonchalant act as well, "Yeah, we just had a run in with some boys and-"

"Boys!" the Professor twitched, once again nearly spilling his coffee on the carpet. He was obviously sleep deprived.

"Girls," he said, taking a sip of his coffee, "I think we need to have a talk."

Buttercup could literally feel the blood drain from her face. A talk? _THE_ talk? She wasn't sure she was ready for that after nearly being strangled to death. She remembered the time their neighbor Robin had gotten her first boyfriend and her mom gave her "the talk". Every time Buttercup saw her that week she was just staring into space, usually at a blank wall if it was available, and she wouldn't say a word.

No way, Buttercup was not gonna be part of any talk. Not today.

Blossom seemed to have a similar feeling, "Um Professor, can't this wait until tomorrow? Or maybe next week." Buttercup could practically feel Bubbles trembling next to her.

"Now girls, I know this isn't something you want hear, but-"

"Professor," Buttercup interrupted, "It was just a fight, I really don't think it's anything to get this worked up about."

"Well, I've been putting this off for long enough anyway, and it really is time for…"

Buttercup stopped listening completely. He was really gonna give them "the talk". Now.

The Professor got up from his seat on the couch and started walking towards them. No, Buttercup was not going through this today.

"Heh heh… yeah, um, maybe some other time Professor," she said, taking to the air and flying as fast as she could to the bedroom, which was all of two miles an hour thanks to her broken leg and lack of strength.

"Buttercup! Get back down-"

"Sorry Professor," Bubbles squeak before following.

"Yeah, um, good night," Blossom took off at the same time Bubbles did, but unfortunately for her Bubbles had shorter hair. Blossom stopped flying and turned around to see the professor holding on to her ponytail, just like he used to when they played tag when she were little and he actually managed to catch her. That's why Buttercup always kept her hair short.

"Girls, come back down," he said sternly.

"Bubbles! Buttercup!" Blossom shrieked.

Buttercup peaked down over the banister on the second floor with Bubbles next to her, "Sorry Leader Girl."

"No way! You two are not making me go through this by myself! Get down here and help me! That's an order!"

If the Professor had chosen any other time for this, Blossom would have been more than capable of running away to their room, but she was still out of energy and badly injured. So Buttercup and Bubbles watched as the Professor dragged her into the kitchen.

"I'm gonna kill you two! Get down here and help me now!"

Bubbles turned to Buttercup, "Should we help?"

Buttercup shook her head, "No way, no one can help her now."

"GIRLS! SAVE ME!"

"Blossom, it's just a talk," the Professor said.

"I don't care! I'm pretty sure I don't wanna hear it!" Blossom yelled, and with that the kitchen door slid shut behind them.

Bubbles and Buttercup remained sitting next to the railing, waiting for Blossom to burst out and fly up the stairs. Buttercup hoped Blossom wouldn't be as traumatized as Robin was, otherwise they were gonna have a hard time fighting those boys again.

"Buttercup?" Bubbles asked, "Would you go get me some milk?"

"You've gotta be kidding me," Buttercup answered in shock, "I'm not going in there."

"But I'm thirsty…"

"Then go get it yourself!"

Bubbles seemed to consider this for a moment before floating down the stairs towards the kitchen.

"I wouldn't do that…" Buttercup warned.

"I know you wouldn't," Bubbles retorted, "That's why I have to, scaredy-cat."

"I'm not scared!" Buttercup protested.

Bubbles attempted to fold her arms across her chest, but then realized her broken one wouldn't let her, "Then why don't you come with me."

"Cause I'm not stupid!"

"Fine," Bubbles shrugged, "I'll go by myself."

Buttercup rose from the floor, "I've gotta see this." She floated over the railing and stood several feet away from the door so she could have a decent view.

"Fine!" And with that, Bubbles opened the door to reveal Blossom with her face practically smashed against the table and her hands over her ears. Buttercup didn't hear what the professor had said, but whatever if was it was enough to change Bubbles' mind; she came out of the kitchen screaming, "I don't wanna hear the talk! I don't wanna hear the talk!"

That seemed to give Blossom the opening she needed to get away, and she took off and fast as she could after Bubbles with Buttercup right behind them.

"I think I've got the gist of it Professor!" Blossom called back down from the stairs, "Good night!"

* * *

><p>"You guys owe me big!" Blossom insisted.<p>

"Why?" Buttercup asked.

"You just left me there!"

"It's your own fault. Get a haircut!"

Bubbles didn't bother listening to her sisters argue anymore, they'd been at it for a while. Bubbles only heard a very small section of "the talk", and she hoped she wouldn't be hearing the rest for a long time. At least Blossom seemed to be taking however much she'd heard without any visible shock. Mostly she was just mad that Buttercup had disobeyed an order when she needed her help. Bubbles was grateful that the Professor chose not to follow them and just gave up for the night. Not that he'd be able to get in, because Bubbles was pretty sure Buttercup locked the door behind her.

Her sisters probably thought she was asleep, but she was having a hard time of finding a comfortable way to rest her arm since she usually slept on her right side facing the windows. Besides, she had too much on her mind to fall asleep just yet.

She remembered everything about the fight prefectly, from before they even approached the boys to when she blacked out. Blossom was right; that blond-haired boy did look an awful lot like her. He even seemed a little shy at first, the way he covered his face with his hand. But then he just started attacking her all of a sudden. It just didn't make sense; he seemed so surprised to see them, completely innocent, and then he just started lashing out at her out of nowhere.

But she was still curious about them. She couldn't help it, she was the caring one after all. And besides, there was one thing that bothered her the most. Just before she blacked out, right after he had thrown her against the diner, she was sure she saw tears in his eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! ^^<strong>


	3. Assistance

**Well, here's another chapter ^^ I'd just like to thank Duckxduck for helping me proofread (because I fail horribly at proofreading my own writing T.T)**

* * *

><p>Brick began to stir as the glass door to his capsule slid aside. His eyes opened slowly and unwillingly to see the dark silhouette of a certain talking monkey standing next to the control panel by the door. He pushed himself up with his hands against the wall behind him, jerking his head up as he caught Butch's green flare out of the corner of his eye.<p>

"Butch…?" Boomer mumbled as he stumbled out of his cell. They watched wide eyed as their brother made a beeline for Mojo only to fall over, skidding to a halt on his side. He gritted his teeth and shivered as sparks flew from his body.

Brick's gaze grew cold and malice; he'd had enough. He turned to Mojo who was smiling widely, his thumb pressed against the green button on his remote, impervious to Brick whose eyes were glowing until lasers shot out at Mojo's remote.

"Yeow!" Mojo shrieked as the remote fell away from his grip. He turned in shock at the remote as it landed a few yards behind him, faced the boys again, and made a run for it.

"Boomer!" Brick called. In an instant, a shot of blue light flew past Mojo and snatched up the device. Mojo turned back to Brick with wide eyes as Boomer returned to his brother's side, remote in hand.

Brick marched up to Mojo and grabbed him by his collar, "Now Mojo," he smiled wickedly, "What do you plan to do without your little shock collar?"

Boomer walked over to Butch who was still lying on the ground, "Butch? You okay?"

Brick glanced over to Butch, waiting for a response to Boomer's question. He didn't answer at first, he just tightened his jaw and squinted up at Boomer. After a moment, he ceased gritting his teeth to yell at him, "Do I look okay!" Sparks flew as he yelled, seeming to amplify him anger.

Boomer and Brick turned to each other, eyes wide, then to Mojo who was grinning smugly, his pointed teeth gleamed.

Instantly Brick was flooded with the agonizing pain. He released Mojo and fell to the floor as electric shocks coarse through him just as they had when he was first created and he balled his hands up into fists, squeezing his fingers until his knuckles turned white.

"Brick!" Boomer cried, but to Brick his yell was faint.

He could barely hear Mojo's chuckling despite the fact that he was right in front of him. Brick peered up at him through narrowed eyes to see the monkey pull a second remote out from behind his back, red and green buttons down.

"How many of those things do you have?" he yelled.

Mojo smiled down at Brick, "Hundreds! Thousands! More than you could ever steal. Now," Mojo released the red and green buttons. Brick and Butch both gasped and fell limp against the floor, "I have another job for you."

"What is it this time?" Butch complained. He had somehow managed to prop himself up on his elbow, while Brick was still recovering from the electrocution with his cheek against the floor.

"You three will simply do some spying on the girls for now. I need you to learn as much as you can about them."

Brick struggled to fall back on his knees so he would be able to look at Mojo. His eyebrows knitted together suspiciously. "You're not ordering us to kill them?"

Mojo shrugged, "Well, seeing as how you were unable to destroy them under the complete influence of Him's DNA, I came up with another plan to use against the girls. Once it's complete, we shouldn't have any problems finishing them off. But I'm going to need you to be prepared. Now off you go! Remember, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again" Mojo encouraged cheerfully.

Butch sneered, "Geez, do you do this every day?"

Mojo just stared at the Rowdyruff Boys with a blank expression, "There's nothing else to do in Townsville."

* * *

><p>Boomer glared back at Mojo as he followed his brothers out the door. They both merely jumped off the side of the volcano and plummeted toward the ground while he chose to float down at a much more leisurely pace.<p>

Brick landed rather soundlessly, a nice contrast compared to Butch who pounded a mini crater into the ground after him. "So where do ya think we should look for the girls?" Butch asked eagerly, shaking out the bits of dirt and grass that had found their way into his hair.

"Well, first things first," Brick began as Boomer lowered himself to the ground, "Do either of you think you would be able to talk to them? Face to face?" Brick asked.

Boomer smiled, but Butch raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Nope, but if we're just gonna spy on them that shouldn't be a problem anyway."

Brick folded his arms together, "Things have changed. I figured since Mojo was complaining so much about the Powerpuff Girls always stopping his plans, maybe they could help us out."

"How would they be able to help us with anything?" Butch challenged again. "And what do we need a bunch of sissy girls' help for?"

"Destroying Mojo's shock collar maybe?" Brick answered sarcastically, "Or have you already forgotten what went on up there only two minutes ago?"

Boomer cocked his head to one side, "Couldn't we just leave now?"

Brick shook his head, "Not while Mojo has that remote. We don't know how far it can reach, so he would probably just shock us until we came back and I'm not really up for that twice in one day."

Butch nodded in agreement, "But you can't really expect us to just talk to them."

"Yeah," Boomer added, not enjoying that him and Butch actually agreed on this topic, "After yesterday I don't think they'll want to help us at all."

"Assuming we don't kill them first," Butch noted. Boomer was sure his heart had stopped for a second; blunt, blunt, blunt. Always and forever blunt Butch.

Brick's eyes narrowed and he shrugged, "We'll just have to try our best to hold back this time, what else can we do."

Boomer heard Butch huff out a silent laugh, he obviously wasn't counting on succeeding. But then again Boomer wasn't really sure if he could either.

"Anyway, let's go find the girls," Brick ordered eventually.

"But _how_ are we going to find them? We didn't even find them yesterday, they found us," Butch reminded.

"We could fly..." Boomer suggested.

"Humph, and look like a sissy? No thanks. Besides, you couldn't find them the first time flying either," Butch scoffed. Well, at least Boomer had been expecting that remark this time.

An explosion caused the boys to turn to the city. There was a huge crash and smoke rose in the distance with a colossal monster rampaging through it all. Butch raised an eyebrow, "This is one strange town..." Boomer nodded.

Brick stared at the monster for a moment longer.

"I've got it!"

Butch and Boomer turned to their leader. "Got what?" Boomer asked.

Brick smiled back at them. "If the Powerpuff Girls always try to stop Mojo from taking over the town, then they've got to stop that monster from destroying it too, right?"

Butch's eyes widened a little and Boomer smiled and nodded. They knew where to find them now at least, and maybe it would go better than the last time.

Brick grinned at his brothers' new found enthusiasm. "Let's go!"

* * *

><p>Butch raced behind Brick towards the giant creature while Boomer flew above them; taking the sissy route as always. As they closed in on the monster Butch made the mistake of glancing up at the sky to find streaks of pink, sky blue, and light green pass overhead. His heart wrenched, his eyes burning as they remained glued on that last green light. She was here, now, and with a good running start like this Butch could easily bound after her into the sky at twice the speed she was moving now.<p>

He felt his feet leave the ground, only by a foot or two. She was right there, just a few 100 yards away. He could swoop in and take her out without her even knowing what hit her, no problem.

A strange smirk crept its way onto his face, growing wider and curling up in a sinister fashion along the sides. It was making him high; the adrenaline, the rush. He even loved the feel of the poison seeping into his arms, burning his muscles inside and then bursting into green lights.

"STOP!"

Butch stumbled back to the ground, hardly slowing, and wrapped his left arm over his right which was still glowing vibrantly. He was shaking, from this new energy that he desperately wanted to use. But Brick's order had snapped him out of it momentarily and he skidded to a halt.

"I don't know if I can take this Brick," Boomer huffed. Butch glanced up at him to see his brother's eyes were almost completely glazed over in blue light and he was trembling too, though not nearly as much as Butch was.

Butch turned to Brick to see his arm ignite into red flames as it spazzed. Brick immediately clamped his other hand over it, trying to keep his arm down. This control, this power, it was spreading like a virus.

Brick met Butch's gaze for only a moment before he glared up at the monster. Then he turned back to them, "Boomer, Butch, you think if we flew up there and helped the girls finish off that monster you might be able to keep yourselves distracted for a little while? Just try and wear off some energy taking down the monster? They might hear us out if we help them first."

Boomer smiled, his eyes dimming slightly, "Sounds alright to me."

Brick nodded sternly, "Butch?"

Butch sighed, or maybe grunted, or something; he wasn't even really sure. There was no way he would be able to talk to that girl, Bubbles was it? No that was the blue one. Whoever that brunette was that he wanted to kill so bad, any civil conversations between them just weren't gonna happen.

But if his brothers wanted to speak to the girls they would be murdering later on why not give them the chance. "Whatever…" he mumbled; might as well give them a shot.

Brick grinned. "Alright, let's go!"

* * *

><p>After receiving agreements from his brothers, Brick shot up in the direction of the monsters head. He felt something pulling him to the skies, but he thought nothing of it and made do with carrying out the plan.<p>

He didn't notice Blossom around anywhere, so he started by zapping the monster's jaw with his laser vision before diving down and around to hit it from the other side. He threw a punch that landed somewhere around the bridge of his nose, but the monster seemed unaffected by this while Brick recoiled and shook out his now bruised knuckles. That should've done some damage at least, but it appeared as though he'd taken more damage than the creature.

Then the monster's eyes were on him, and Brick froze momentarily. It's a frightening experience when something 50 times your size is staring at you.

And so the monster swatted him away as if he were a fly buzzing in his ear, causing Brick to fall back a ways before he managed to steady himself again. Why had he flown this high up? He wasn't exactly the most coordinated when it came to flying.

"Hey!"

Brick froze again, but for a completely different reason. He knew what had pulled him up to the head now, and he cursed to himself for not realizing it sooner.

He glanced hesitantly to his right to see Blossom hovering just a few feet away, blasting the monster.

* * *

><p>Butch flew around the monsters torso, sending a few blasts at its tail. Those things were supposed to be sensitive, weren't they? After appearing to have gotten nothing done, he stopped and decided to try punching its gut instead. He turned to fly off towards the front, and was stopped by the most pathetically girly yell he had ever heard.<p>

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!"

Butch turned back around to see the little blonde Powderpuff hovering a few feet behind him near the creature's tail.

"Buzz off pipsqueak!" he yelled. "Can't you see we're trying to help you guys out?" Jeez, you try to do something nice and look where it gets you.

"I am not a pipsqueak!" she yelled back.

"Look, would you just get lost already? And stay away from Boomer if you know what's good for you."

She tilted her head to the side, "Boomer?"

"Oh God," Butch covered his eyes with his hand in annoyance and shook his head, "The blue kid that beat ya up the other day! Yeah, don't go near him alright?"

"Hey." Butch looked up towards the head after hearing someone yell to find Brick and the redheaded girl flying around by the head. Idiot, wasn't he the one that told them to avoid their look-a-likes? And he just goes and runs into her first thing.

"Blossom!" Bubbles called. That was her name right? Bubbles?

Well, whatever her name was, she was about to fly off to help her sister when Butch grabbed onto her hand, "Just leave them alone."

"Hey, let me go!" She shrieked, nearly kicking him in the face if he hadn't ducked out of the way.

"I said leave them alone!" he insisted, pulling her down to his altitude. "If you don't want them to start fighting each other, then start by knocking out this monster."

She still wasn't satisfied, "But I don't see how-"

"Aw…" Butch teased, "Does the little, girly, Powderpuff think she can't take care of an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, little monster like this?"

"WHAT!"

"So that's it," he continued, folding his arms and turning his back to her so she wouldn't see his smile, "I mean, that would make sense. You are Boomer's look-a-like after all, and he can't even step on a cockroach without screwing it up."

"That's it!" She screeched, and Butch turned around again to see Blondie right in front of his face, glaring so fiercely he thought lasers could shoot out at any moment. "I-I, uh…" Butch mumbled.

"I'm gonna take the monster down all by myself!" she screamed, practically shattering Butch's eardrums, and flying off around the creature.

Butch started to fly back around again, but nearly fell into the monsters side from dizziness. Stupid whinny girls and their stupid supersonic screams…

But then a shock ran through the air, and Butch looked up to see a bright red light strike the monsters head with an ear-splitting crack.

Butch could almost feel his eyes roll back into his eye; too much noise.

The monster shrunk under his blow, going limp and falling back on one last building in a cloud of smoke. Butch lowered himself to the ground next to Boomer, stumbling a bit as he held his head.

"Butch? Something wrong?" Boomer asked.

"No, I'm fine," he answered, "But that look-a-like of yours sure has one heck of a voice."

This seemed to confuse Boomer, which really wasn't too surprising, but Brick landed between them before he could ask anything.

Brick wobbled slightly as he attempted to catch his breath. Boomer reached for his arm to hold him steady, "You okay Brick?"

Brick grinned widely and Butch punched his back playfully, "Dude, nice shot!"

Brick laughed lightly and smiled again, as did Butch, but then his smile faded and he felt and all too familiar pull. Boomer looked like he felt it too, his eyes lighting up again.

Butch turned back to the haze of dust as it cleared to reveal the Powerpuff Girls, all three glaring at the boys with suspicious looks. Butch quickly looked away, nearly snapping his neck in the process. He was trembling again, as was Boomer, but Brick seemed perfectly fine. Why wasn't he itching to kill Pinky?

The girls floated over to the Rowdyruff Boys and landed a few feet in front of them, and with that Butch raced off in the other direction with Boomer close behind. Forget Brick; if he can handle this himself, go for it. If Butch stuck around, he'd just ruin everything.

Butch kept running a ways before skidding to a halt with Boomer nearly running into him. They couldn't go too far, otherwise they wouldn't know whether the Powerpuffs were gonna help them or not. So they stayed where they stood, still in pain, but not quite so horrible.

Butch felt himself start to shake again, and folded his arms together. Not perfect, but not quite as horrible.

* * *

><p>Blossom folded her arms across her chest, "You boys have got a lot of explaining to do."<p>

In the face of Blossom's anger, Brick could have burst into laughter. He was filled with so much joy, having been relieved of his overwhelming power that he couldn't help but let a chuckle escape, "Where should I start?"

Blossom's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Who are you? And why do you look like us?" she specified.

"They don't look anything like us," the brunette grumbled to herself.

Hearing Blossom's voice ring in his ears sent a flicker of temptation through his veins, yet still miniscule in comparison to his earlier pain. However, it was enough to make his smile fade. He glanced back at his brothers standing a ways behind him. Boomer was still hugging himself tightly as he shivered, not even daring to look up at the girls. Butch's hands were silhouetted with a faint emerald glow, his eyes clouded. Brick knew he would have to try and explain everything quickly; he wasn't sure how long his brothers would be able to hold on.

He turned back to face Blossom, but Butch's counterpart spoke before he could. She held up her fist and punched her opposite palm. "Aw, forget it. Let's just kick their butts!"

Buttercup stood in a fighting stance, ready to race over to his brothers. Bubbles did the same on the opposite side of Blossom, who was glancing back at them with looks of concern and irritation. Brick's pulse sped up; if the girls rushed in and attacked his brothers he was sure Boomer and Butch would lose control. Even if Blossom didn't join in on the fight, he would never be able to reason with her if her sisters went and got themselves killed.

Buttercup began to streak forward when Brick held up his arm to stop her, catching Buttercup's arm as she passed and holding her still. She whipped around and glared daggers back at him. "Let go of me!"

Brick glowered, "Look, we're not here to fight you alright?"

Buttercup's glare tightened, "Yeah, well, too bad! We weren't looking for a fight yesterday and you guys gave us one!"

Brick opened his mouth to protest, but Blossom beat him to it. "Let them talk, Buttercup."

As glad as he was that Blossom had chosen to hear him out, fear began to rise in his heart. He could feel the burning rush of Him's blood boiling deep within him. A shiver ran through him as he tightened his grip on his conscience, along with his grip on Buttercup. Once he realized he immediately let go of the Powerpuff and took a step back, afraid to stand too close to Blossom. He glanced up to meet her eyes and immediately glanced back down at his feet. He needed to draw out as much time as possible in between Blossom's comments; he didn't want to push his luck.

"Would ya just spit it out already?" Buttercup griped

And with that Brick snapped, "Okay, I'm gonna need you to shut up."

"You need me to-"

"I'm serious," he growled. "We kicked your butts yesterday. If you don't want it to happen again, shut up."

"Beginner's luck. We could take you on this time."

Brick bit his lip and glanced back at Butch. He was kneeling on the ground, his fingers digging into the dirt, hands radiating. Shudders ran through his body.

He turned back to Blossom, knowing Buttercup would listen to her leader if she wouldn't listen to him. "Please?" he practically begged. "It would really help if you guys just didn't say anything."

Blossom's face changed to a frown, but she nodded to her sisters, Bubbles seeming more concerned than Buttercup, who continued to glare at him.

Brick breathed a sigh of relief, "Alright, we're the Rowdyruff Boys. I'm Brick, and those are my brothers Boomer and Butch," he motioned behind him, "Mojo said he created us out of your DNA and Him's blood or whatever, which is why we look alike, I guess. He sent us out yesterday to, uh... find you and we... um…" he trailed off.

Buttercup interrupted, "Find us! You attacked us!"

Brick huffed, his eyebrows knitted together and his eyes still on the ground. "Remember how I told you not to say anything?"

Brick peeked up at Buttercup through his bangs to see a look of annoyance on her face, but she did not argue.

Brick continued with his explanation, "We're...sorry. About yesterday." He glanced up to meet Bubbles' eyes, "Especially Boomer."

Bubbles brought her hands up to cover her mouth as her gaze rested behind Brick. He resumed his story, "We didn't know who you were. Mojo sent us out to find you with no information at all. He just said we'd know when we found you."

Blossom's eyes knitted together as she opened her mouth to speak. Brick's head shot up to meet her gaze, willing her not to say anything; he didn't want his own temper to start flaring either. However, when their eyes linked his blood boiled more than if she _had_ spoken.

Blossom closed her mouth slightly without a word and her wide-eyed stare lowered to Brick's hand. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked down to see his right hand glow bright crimson.

He grabbed his arm with his opposite hand, holding it steady. "This is why I told you not to say anything." He gritted his teeth as he forced his arm down to his side, Him's power coursing more freely. "The more aware we are of where you are, the more Him's power forces us to attack without reason. But it's only our counterparts that trigger it." Brick glanced up to Bubbles and Buttercup. "It doesn't hurt me to talk to you two, but it does hurt Boomer and Butch. That's why they moved farther away."

Bubbles took a step closer and asked in a whisper, "But then why are you standing so close to Blossom?"

Brick grinned without humor, happy she had whispered her question to keep from provoking Boomer, but a little embarrassed to be admitting all his secrets to these girls. His eyes narrow, he explained, "I wore myself out when I punched the monster. It made it easier to speak to Blossom, but it's wearing off..."

Buttercup folded her arms together and glowered at him. "Well what do you suppose we do? Let you attack our sister again once you can't take it?" she asked sarcastically. Blossom elbowed her in the side, earning a look of concern.

Brick shut his eyes tightly. "I wanted to ask for your help to escape from Mojo. He has a special remote that he uses to shock us if we don't do as he says. If he didn't have it, then we would be able to leave. If you can help us, we'll leave Townsville and never bother you again." he promised.

Blossom knelt down so she could look Brick in the eyes. "Why don't you just steal it?" she whispered.

Lowering her voice didn't help. Brick's eyes burned with rage as he stumbled a few steps back, to keep a distance between him and his counterpart, before falling over and landing on his backside with a thud. He wouldn't be able to hold himself back much longer. "We tried. He has more," he groaned.

Buttercup turned to her sister, "What should we do, Leader Girl?"

Brick didn't hear an answer; instead, he turned around to check on his brothers. They hadn't moved from their original stances, though whether that was good or bad he wasn't sure.

* * *

><p>Boomer clutched his shoulders tightly, still shivering. Despite having super-human hearing, in his current state he had no idea how things were going with Brick and the girls. All he could think was a continuous plea that replayed itself over and over again in his head; Please help us. Please?<p>

It caught him by surprise when he heard a pair of footsteps approaching him, and he instantly thought it might be Bubbles and he readied himself to flee.

But when he looked up it wasn't his counterpart like he's expected, it was Brick's. Blossom, if he'd remembered correctly.

She smiled at him, "Hi, Boomer right?"

"Y-yeah?" Boomer managed to mumble as his teeth chattered.

"Come on," Blossom urged gently, flying behind him and lifting him up under his arms, "It's okay."

Boomer didn't move as she lifted him from the ground slowly before rising into the sky. He glanced down at Butch, who was glaring up at them. He looked like he was about to yell something up to them, but then Bubbles appeared in front of him.

Bubbles?

Boomer thrashed in Blossom's arms for a moment, subconsciously trying to free himself and go after the girl that was now talking with his brother. He felt his eyes burn up again before shutting them quickly.

"Boomer, hey?" Blossom was still gripping his shoulders firmly, but was having a hard time holding him still as they flew. "Boomer, it's okay! Calm down!"

It didn't take Boomer very long to settle down, but he was still trembling as he tried to remain still. "Sorry Blossom…" he apologized through his teeth, "It is Blossom, isn't it?"

"Yes, that right," she answered, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"So…" he started to ask, "Does this mean you're going to help us?" If the girls were taking him and his brothers somewhere then that meant they'd agreed to Brick's request right?

Blossom didn't answer for a moment, seeming to have a hard time finding the right words. "We'll see what we can do," she finally said.

Boomer smiled, "Thanks Blossom."

She didn't answer him, but then again there wasn't really much to be said after a "thank you". After some time the silence was beginning to bother him, and then Boomer remembered something he'd meant to ask about earlier.

"Um… I don't wanna be a burden or anything," Boomer mumbled, "I could fly on my own instead."

"Boomer…" Blossom sighed, "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather carry you after what happened when we first took off."

"Oh, right…" Boomer muttered, hanging his head slightly to get a better view of Townsville below. That made sense… They were fairly far away from Butch and Bubbles now, so Boomer had become much calmer, but he understood why Blossom might still be worried.

Boomer glanced down every so often to see the tops of skyscrapers and the microscopic heads of citizens hundreds of feet below. After some time, the buildings began to thin and a smaller neighborhood formed outside the city, each house clearly separated unlike the apartments and buildings in the city that were pressed tightly together.

Blossom flew over to a pasty house, angles sharp and unusually square. Three windows were cut in the upper story and a garage and door below. She set him down on the driveway before floating down in front of him.

"Brick and Buttercup should be inside already. We're going to go down to the basement so we can introduce you to the Professor, he's kinda like our dad," She explained. "He might have a better idea on what to do about your situation with Mojo."

"Wait," Boomer interrupted, "If Brick's already downstairs, does that mean you're not… I mean, are you sure-"

Blossom smiled and nodded, "Brick'll be fine with me coming down with you Boomer. Don't worry."

Boomer still wasn't sure about Blossom and Brick being in the same room, but he figured if Blossom was sure everything would be okay then he had nothing to worry about.

Boomer followed behind Blossom as she led him through the doorway and down the hall. They passed a couch that sat before a TV and then turned to another hall of pictures and portraits. Boomer glanced at each and every picture, all of Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttercup happily together. There were some from trips to the beach, some from birthdays. In most of the pictures there was a man with them who Boomer assumed was the Professor. They seemed so happy together, he thought.

Blossom stopped suddenly at the first door on the left. Boomer had been so engrossed with the photos he almost stumbled into her. She opened the door and gestured for him to follow her. She chose to float down the stairs instead of walking down, so he figured he'd do the same.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Boomer looked up to see Brick sitting on the floor shrouded in an orange light. He seemed perfectly fine with it, but it still seemed strange.

But more importantly, he didn't seem affected at all when Blossom came to stand next to him.

"It's alright," Blossom comforted, motioning to the spot next to Brick, "Just stand there a moment."

Blossom walked over to Buttercup and helped fiddle with some knobs and levers on the machine next to them that had produced the orange light. Boomer watched as she left them, then turned to Brick. "What's the laser for?"

"It's to stop us from attacking them," Brick answered. "And our powers from being used."

Boomer's expression remained unchanged and after a moment he was engulfed in the orange light too.

"Hey! Let me go!"

Brick, Boomer, Blossom, and Buttercup all turned towards the door at the sound of Butch's yelling. Bubbles appeared in the doorway, still carrying Butch, her arms stretched away from her body. "Ew! Ew! Ew!"

She floated down the stairs as he thrashed in her arms. The moment she reached the floor, she dumped him on the ground hastily and flew over to her sisters. Once again, the ray was attuned to contain the new number of detainees.

As Boomer watched her fly away, he was happy to notice her presence barely bothered him at all. He also felt bad that she had been the one forced to bring Butch here; that must've been a long trip.

Butch propped himself up on his elbows. "What's going on?"

Brick smiled slightly. "Butch, it's fine. They're just gonna run a few tests on us to see..." He trailed off after a moment of thinking, and pushed himself away from the wall to face the girls. "What _are_ you guys testing us for, anyway?" Tests?

Before the girls had a chance to answer, the Professor reentered the lab and strolled over to join the Powerpuffs. "Now, girls, you were going to explain why you brought these boys home and why you wanted to put them in the containment ray?"

* * *

><p>Buttercup folded her arms together and glared back at the Rowdyruffs. She didn't believe a word of their story; as soon as she'd heard the red-eyed punk say Mojo's name whatever story he told them didn't matter. And the one he had told them was just too crazy to be true. It could never happen.<p>

"Well Professor," Blossom began, catching Buttercup's attention as well, "You remember what happened yesterday? Or rather last night?"

"Are you trying to tell me these are the boys that beat you up?" The Professor's eyebrows turned down in a disapproving frown.

"Yes, they are…" Bubbles nodded.

He sighed. "Now girls," the Professor started again, squatting down slightly by placing his hands on his legs, "You know it's very unhealthy to become involved in a relationship like this and I'm just worried that-"

"Professor!" the three girls squeaked in unison.

"Would you stop jumping to conclusions already!" Buttercup nearly yelled out of embarrassment. "They're our enemies!"

"Then why did you bring them here?" he was still very much confused.

As was Buttercup, "Ask Leader Girl here."

Blossom sighed, "Okay, it's obvious that we can't have these boys running lose in the city. If they have ties to Mojo like Brick said, there's no telling what he could do with the Rowdyruff Boys."

"The Rowdyruff Boys?" the Professor asked.

"That's what they were calling themselves," Buttercup nodded. "Brick, Boomer, and Butch."

"As I was saying," Blossom started again, shooting a look at Buttercup, "They say that Mojo made them out of a combination of Him's DNA and ours. And they said Mojo sent them out to find us yesterday and they-"

"They just went all crazy and lost their minds and attacked us!" Buttercup explained, waving her arms around. Blossom glared at her again, but she just shrugged, "Well, that's what they said."

Blossom rolled her eyes, "Anyway, they said that Mojo was electrocuting them to make them do what he wants and they want our help."

"Hmm…" the Professor muttered, rubbing his chin, "Mojo made the Rowdyruff Boys…"

"You don't really believe their story, do you?" Buttercup asked Blossom again. There was no way Blossom could believe something so stupid.

And Buttercup was relieved when she shook her head, "Not a word of it. Their story just doesn't add up; why they really attacked us, why they kept us alive, how they were created. Either we're missing half the story, or none of its true. And seeing as how these are the same guys that knocked us out yesterday, I'd rather lean towards the latter option."

"Then why did you bring them here?" The Professor asked.

"They practically begged us to take them in," Blossom noted, "Whatever they're scheming, they want us to trust them and they seem willing to comply with whatever we say. At least here they're away from the city, and we can test them without worry for the civilians."

"Test them for what?" Buttercup raised an eyebrow.

"Test their story. Test their trust. Figure out why they're really here and why they really wanted us to take them in. It's apparent that we find out how they're involved with Mojo and their real motives. At the very least we can make them crack, make them give up on their charade."

"But what if they really do need our help?" Bubbles mumbled, speaking for the first time in the entire conversation, "What if they are telling the truth?"

"No way," Buttercup shook her head, "I don't trust a thing they say." It was just like Bubbles to be so trusting of them, so naïve.

"If they _are_ telling the truth," Blossom acknowledged, "Then they will stay, no matter what we put them through. If they really want our help, then they'll still be here after what we're about to do."

"And what did you have in mind?" asked the Professor.

"We're going to need those heart monitors you made last year Professor. And we're going to need to use the simulator." Buttercup wasn't sure exactly what Blossom was getting at, but she liked the involvement of the simulator; they hadn't used it in a while and she missed training in it.

Blossom turned to Bubbles and Buttercup, "We're going to test their trust. I'll go into the simulator with Brick and the Professor will monitor his status from the outside."

"Hey!" Buttercup protested, "Why do you get to have all the fun? I could take out Butch no problem." Why was Blossom going to fight? She didn't have the same passion for it that Buttercup had.

"Because if Brick were to crack first then his brothers wouldn't know what to do," she answered. "Brick appears to be the leader, he spoke to us first. When the leader falls, so do his followers."

Buttercup didn't answer to that and Blossom turned back to the Professor, "We'll need to make it look casual though, like a spur of the moment type of thing. Make Butch and Boomer worry that Bubbles or Buttercup could've been chosen to fight them instead. And Professor, if there's anything you can do to look into their claim of their creation, test it. Blood samples, heart rates, x-rays, whatever. Make it look genuine, like a full exam."

"Well…" the Professor began rubbing his chin again, "If they say they were made from Him's DNA, then it should be apparent on the heart monitor data. The new adjustments scan the wearer's DNA by taking a skin cell sample automatically. I'll be able to get a reading there, and other than that only physical tests would be necessary. Such as your fight with Brick, but are you sure about this Blossom?" The Professor failed to hide his concern.

Blossom nodded, "I'll be fine Professor. Fighting bad guys is far from new."

While the Professor and Blossom talked over the finer details of their testing, Buttercup turned back to glare at Butch. He was doing something with his fingers, trying to snap them maybe? Not that it mattered, and Buttercup's glower tightened. He was the only one to ever win against her, to ever beat her in a fight. After Blossom was done with Brick, she'd have her chance. And she vowed that this time she wouldn't be the one at the bottom of a crater.

* * *

><p>"Ready Professor?" Blossom asked. He didn't usually play a large part in their everyday crime fighting, at least not anything on the frontlines. Honestly she felt a little nervous letting him talk to the same villains that had nearly killed them yesterday.<p>

But he seemed to be excited to help out, "Yes, I've got it." And with that he walked over to the boys. Blossom heard a sharp intake of breath and glanced over to see Bubbles covering her mouth as the Professor neared the Rowdyruffs.

"It'll be fine," Blossom assured her. "Nothing's going to happen."

"Brick?" the Professor asked, grabbing Blossom's attention as well. She intended to dissect the entire conversation the Rowdyruff Boys were about to have, and search out any reactions that may seem unusual.

But Brick merely looked up and nodded to the Professor. He was still sitting on the floor, legs crossed and arms folded.

"If you don't mind," the Professor began, "I'd like to run a few experiments on you and your brothers to see if I can learn more about Mojo's remote and maybe figure out a few things about how you are related to Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup."

This seemed to please him, so he smiled and nodded again before standing up, "Sounds good to me."

Good, an agreement.

But then Butch rose from his seat on the ground and raised an eyebrow at the Professor, a skeptical look on his face, "What kinda tests?"

Unwillingness possibly? Or could it just be concern. It wasn't uncommon for someone to want to be informed, especially when it came to their own wellbeing.

"Well, I'd like to start out with a standard physical, more so heart rates. After that I can give you guys x-rays to see if I can pick up an imbedded chip of some sort. They're commonly used with tracking devices and remotes, like the one Mojo has... oh, my girls mentioned that you'd managed to steal his remote before. You wouldn't happen to still have it, would you?"

Brick tilted his head slightly, his eyebrows puckering. It took him a moment to remember, and then he turned to Boomer and asked, "Do you have it?" Boomer nodded and reached into his pocket to produce Mojo's remote and handed it to the Professor.

So they brought a remote, Blossom thought to herself. It could easily be a fake, just a cheap piece of junk, which the Professor would be able to identify quickly. Or it could be more intricate than that, if Mojo wanted their story to sound more believable, and if they were working together, than he might've made a nearly-functional remote device or some sort.

"Just don't press any of the buttons," Brick warned. Blossom smirked; she highly doubted anything would happen even if they did.

"Now let's see..." the Professor began hypothesizing, "Each of you has your own custom button, blue, red, and green. Then what is this last button for?" the Professor asked. So the remote had four buttons then. What would the purpose be of the last…

But Brick only shrugged, giving nothing away, "As far as we know, he's never used it." He seemed very nonchalant about it, possibly trying too hard to act casual. Or maybe he'd never considered the last button… No, he probably didn't. Maybe Mojo added it on last minute without deciding on a use.

The Professor began rubbing his chin again. "Alright, then. For now, let's get your physicals taken care of. I'll look over the remote tonight, but I'm very curious about you three." The Professor leaned in closer to get a better look at Brick, only to have Brick take a step back, closing in on the wall behind him.

Blossom smiled to herself again; he seemed nervous. Maybe it would be easier to break his façade that she had originally thought.

"You may not know this," the Professor went on, "But Mojo has tried over and over again to defeat my girls so he can take over the world and I have no doubt in my mind that he has created you three for that purpose as well."

The accusation in his tone seemed to frighten Boomer, and he backed up against the wall a little more, but Brick and Butch stood their ground defiantly.

"He did mention that..." Brick allowed.

Blossom had not been expecting that. While she had expecting them to protest and spew garbage about wanting to be good and how they were all on the same side, she didn't think Brick would go about it in that manner. He gave off the sense of having a neutral stance, a very firm neutral stance.

The Professor walked back towards the girls and set the remote down on a desk behind the laser. He also picked up three heart monitor straps and watches, along with a small metal case, winked at the girls with a smile and headed back over to the Rowdyruffs. Oh yes, he was enjoying being a part of this mission.

"Could you put this on for me?" he asked. "The strap goes around your chest. You can fasten it under your sweater. Your heart rate will appear on the watch."

Blossom only watched until the boys grabbed their monitors before turning away. She remembered how in school their gym teachers had required them to wear heart monitors for a time and half the guys would use the excuse to fling their shirts off in complete disregard. She found it degrading.

"Okay?" Blossom turned back as Brick confirmed that they were ready.

"Alright," the Professor turned back to his girls. "Blossom, can you turn off the ray?"

Blossom played around with a few buttons on the control panel as her sisters eyed her with concern. Eventually, she pulled a lever, and as she did the orange light faded.

Blossom noticed that Brick shoulders rose ever so slightly, as if he'd been holding a heavy weight of some sort and it had just been taken off his hands. She also noticed that, while before he'd only glanced at her occasionally, now they seemed to be having a staring contest. She watched as his eyes lit up and tinted his cheeks red ever so slightly. He balled his hands up into fists and looked to Boomer, and so Blossom did too, examining his condition as well as Butch's.

Had she really only been focusing on his reactions? Well he was going to be her opponent after all, and she supposed this was preparing her in some way.

Butch and Boomer didn't seem to be faring so well, or rather they wouldn't have any problems finding acting jobs at the local theater. Boomer was holding his arm, eyes completely shut while Butch kept his arms at his sides despite the fact that they were shaking.

Blossom found it interesting that they chose not to pretend to react to their presence until now, until after the ray was turned off.

Brick peeked up at the Professor, making sure to keep his eyes off Blossom, "Um...Professor? What...exactly do you want us to do?" his voice seemed strained.

"Well, I'd like to place you three in the training simulator. It should be sufficient exercise to trigger the heart monitors."

The Professor walked past the girls and down a hall behind the stairway they had come down. The girls trailed behind their father and headed to the back wall near the simulator's window.

After a moment the boys followed after them, apparently much more weary.

The Professor sat down in a chair in front of the control panel and flipped a few of the switches, "Alright, boys, if you'd just step through that door, we'll get started."

* * *

><p>Butch watched Brick nod and open the door beside them, leading into a rather small room covered in white tiles. He followed after him with Boomer bringing up the rear. He notice Brick turn to face a window that the Professor was watching them through as Boomer shut the door behind him.<p>

Butch stopped, his jaw dropping slightly as he realized he'd been gritting his teeth. He looked up to meet Brick's gaze, who was apparently just as surprised. What the heck just happened?

"Uh...Professor?" Brick began to ask, stopping when he wasn't sure how to word his question. Normally Butch would've rolled his eyes at this, after all it was a simple question, but he was in too much shock.

"Yes?" the Professor encouraged. His voice rang through the chamber.

"Why... h-how come we can't sense the girls anymore?" he stuttered, speaking quickly.

"Well, it's probably because you three are in a closed off section away from the girls. Now, let's get on with your tests..."

The Professor's voice faded away as the bleached walls surrounding the boys began to change. The tiles vanished and were replaced by skyscrapers and clouds. Butch looked down at his feet to see the city of Townsville as it had seemed when Bubbles had carried him to their house. Not that he'd been paying too much attention; he'd mostly complained the entire trip.

"Alright..." the Professor sighed when the images had finished loading. Butch turned to where the glass window had been, but now all he could see was the skyline of Townsville.

"Could you boys circle once around Townsville for me?" the Professor asked, his location still unclear.

Butch glanced over to Brick, waiting for his decision. This was all too weird, all this hologram mumbo-jumbo. There'd been a wall there a minute ago and Butch wasn't about to just fly straight into it alone.

Brick nodded to them and at once, the Rowdyruffs took off in a multicolored stream around the border of the virtual Townsville. It had taken them barely a split second before they returned to their original locations. They hovered in the sky, waiting for the Professor's next command.

"Interesting..." he muttered.

"W-what is it?" Boomer asked, clearly worried. What a dope, what's there to worry about?

"It appears that… Oh well, it's nothing," the Professor's voice echoed as he trailed off, lost in thought.

After a few moments, he spoke again, "Hmm...alright. Girls, can you come here a minute? ...Okay, I'd like to send one of you three into the simulation with the boys. Who wants to go?"

* * *

><p>Bubbles moved closer to the window to get a better view. As soon as the Professor asked the predetermined question from earlier the boys' expressions twisted into obvious panic.<p>

She knew this was a bad idea; she knew they shouldn't be doing this. She trusted what Brick had told them back in town, about Mojo's remote and about their DNA. She hated seeing people suffer in any way, let alone people who had put their trust in her.

"I do!" Both Blossom and Buttercup volunteered.

Bubbles didn't bother looking up at them. She already knew who the Professor would ultimately choose. She watched the boys' calm for a second, Boomer especially, who turned to smile at her momentarily. She smirked meekly back, and then he turned to his brothers who were all but petrified.

Bubbles lowered her gaze before shifting away from the window. She didn't want to watch this.

* * *

><p>A smile quickly snuck onto Boomer's face when he didn't hear Bubbles ask to join them. That meant he would be able to avoid… well, avoid something that didn't need to happen.<p>

He quickly noticed Bubbles checking in on them near the far left side of the window and he smiled at her, grateful. But there was something wrong, she looked so sad. She smiled back at him, but it was just barely more than a frown. Why was she so sad?

"Come on, Professor, let me go! I'll kick his butt in no time!"

Bubbles disappeared from the window then and Boomer's concentration immediately shifted back to the task at hand; which Powerpuff was going to join them in the simulator. What was the point of that? The girls had told the Professor what had happened yesterday hadn't they? Why would he ask his daughters to do something so dangerous?

"Come on Professor, please?" Buttercup pleaded. Boomer only shook his head and glanced wearily over to Butch. He'd been lucky that Bubbles didn't seem to want any part in this, whatever this was.

"I don't know..." the Professor muttered, "I don't want you to go in and start fighting them right away."

If the Professor had turned down Buttercup, then that only left one option.

"Blossom?"

Poor Brick; he's already been through so much today.

"Yes, Professor?" she asked eagerly. The echo of her voice ran through the simulator. Boomer's head snapped over to Brick when a red light flashed in his peripheral vision.

Brick was shaking already, just from hearing Blossom's voice. His eyes were shut now, a faint red glow seeping through his eyelids.

Butch grabbed his shoulder and started shaking him slightly, "Brick? Hey, Brick?" Boomer circled around to his other side.

After a moment or two, Brick seemed to snap out of his minor meltdown. He really did look terrible, too pale, sweating and panting. How long could this last?

"Brick?" the Professor asked, "Are you alright?"

At that moment the color in Brick face seemed to reappear, staining his cheeks a darker red as he nodded. He was blushing? Why should he blush?

"Okay, I'll send Blossom in now," the Professor replied.

Brick's eyes widened and Boomer had worried that he'd stopped breathing altogether. "Uh, Professor?" Boomer started to ask, "I don't think that's such a g-"

Boomer stopped as the door into the simulator opened to reveal Blossom, who stepped quickly into the room and shut the door behind her.

Brick shut his eyes again and turned his head away, keeping his jaw clenched as well as his fists. Butch's grip on his shoulder tightened and Boomer stood between the two reds.

"Brick," the Professor's voice rang. Boomer turned back to see Brick peeked up at the Professor with the eye farther away from Blossom. "Try to hold back as best you can while Butch and Boomer fight Blossom. But if it's too much for you, it's okay."

Boomer couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Not only was he going to fight Blossom with Butch, but Brick could join in if he wanted to? This is crazy.

Brick groaned in agony and fell to the floor, holding his arms tightly as he rested on his knees.

"Brick!" Boomer shouted in surprise. He'd never expected Brick to just collapse like that.

"Just go get Blossom!" Brick ordered, keeping his head down resting his chin on his arms, "Do it before I do!"

* * *

><p>"You got it!" Butch replied.<p>

Brick heard the high-pitched screeches of his brothers taking off, sapphire and emerald streaks flashing around him. He remained curled up on the ground, squeezing his forearms until his knuckles turned white. All he could do was sit in the corner and wait for his brothers to finish off Blossom.

"You really shouldn't underestimate your counterpart so much," the Professor teased.

Brick glared up at him through narrowed eyes, then glanced sheepishly over in the direction Butch and Boomer had raced off in. The room had changed again; now they were fighting in a field with no buildings or houses in sight. All he could see was a streak of pink being pursued by flashes of blue and green. After many circles and turns, Blossom stopped flying and merely floated in the sky, high above Brick. He watched as Butch and Boomer darted towards her from either side. Despite the pain of his current state, a smirk appeared on his face; he knew what Blossom was trying to pull.

She smiled as she glanced to either side, glimpsing the green and blue streaks of her sister's counterparts. They neared her quickly, much too quickly for any ordinary person to perceive, but she was far from ordinary. At the last second, just before the boys were able to strike her, she shot upwards and the two Rowdyruffs collided.

Brick chuckled. The Professor had been right; he shouldn't underestimate Blossom. But then again, maybe he had just overestimated his brothers. He watched Butch and Boomer fall back before steadying themselves in the air, both of them rubbing their heads.

"Alright, boys, that's enough."

The holograms faded as Butch, Blossom, and Boomer floated down to the floor. Brick smiled weakly and turned away. At least he'd been able to hold himself back.

"Butch, Boomer, you two can come out. I want Brick and Blossom to have a test battle alone."

Brick's eyes shot open and he turned to see his brother's leave the chamber, their expressions matching his. Sweat dripped down from his cap, his muscles tensed.

"Come on, Brick. Time to train," Blossom encouraged.

Brick flinched at her words, both the sound and the meaning hurting him. He really didn't want to hurt her, not as badly as he had the first time they'd met. He felt his muscles tense again and he rose slowly. He faced Blossom head on.

"Okay, Brick, this time, don't hold back."

Brick shut his eyes tightly and clenched his jaw. After a moment, he lifted his head, staring into his counterpart's innocent, rosy eyes while his eyes, in turn, glistened with a scarlet flair. _Oh God, someone help me,_ he pleaded silently.


	4. Differences

**Next chapter ^^ This one's a little short**

* * *

><p>"Get out of here Blossom," Brick ordered sternly. He was shaking now, still staring at her and not having moved. It wouldn't be much longer…<p>

"Why should I?" she taunted.

That was all it took. Adrenaline rushing, filled with a poison that felt all too familiar. Burning eyes, loss of hearing, hand-eye coordination fading… His breath caught as he struggled to stop the rush as his hands balled up into fists and began to gleam with a scarlet flare. He shut his eyes tightly, but at this point his efforts were pointless; his mind was already slipping away.

Brick streaked forward, aiming for his counterpart. As the distance between them shortened, her magnetic pull on him grew stronger, urging him on.

Just before the two collided, Blossom sidestepped the attack. He took the opportunity to put some distance between them again and forced himself to race blinding ahead as he had been, driving himself not to turn and hit her on the spot as he passed.

But he spun around sooner than he would have hoped to see her eyeing him strangely, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

He threw himself at her again without thinking. Once he realized he had begun to attack her again he pulled back as best he could, attempting to weaken his strike. He balled his right hand up into a fist and hurled his arm upward.

Blossom continued to glare at him, not with anger but with perplexity. She barely paid any attention to his punch. She simply ducked out of the way, just as she had before.

Brick threw punch after decelerate punch. He forced his speed to remain low; he wasn't about to let this urge get the best of him again, not so easily. He absentmindedly attacked over and over again, until Blossom took to the skies. She glowered down at him. "This is just insulting! You're not the same boy who beat me before," she taunted.

Brick's eyes flared, his blood rushing. "You're damn right I'm not!" He wouldn't turn into that mindless killer again. Not if he could help it. He shot up, attempting to punch her again, but Blossom caught his fist in the palm of her hand.

His eyes widened in surprise, his blood burning. "Why are you holding back?" she whispered.

Blossom's touch stung Brick's hand, making him fall deeper into Him's influence. He gritted his teeth together as his awareness began to fade once more and he started running off curses in his head. He knew what she was up to; she was going to just keep talking until he lost control completely. Brick felt his eyes burn, his heart pounding. "Are you suicidal or something?" he yelled.

Blossom released Brick's fist and let his punch follow threw into empty space as she flew up above his head. Her eyes scanned him from top to bottom, her questioning gaze returning. "Why aren't you fighting me?"

"Because you can't help me if you're dead!"

Brick's breathes became short and quick. His heart burned as it pushed sinful blood through him, his muscles aching with the poison. His hunger roared deep within him, akin to that of a siren's call, while his whole body seemed to be screaming, _kill her...kill her_... It was a new chant compared to the former "how dare she", and frankly he preferred the original because he found this one rather disturbing.

Brick could feel his consciousness vanishing, but he desperately forced himself to think in spite of it. If he could just keep himself thinking, if he could just keep his mind active, he might be able to avoid killing this stupid girl. This stupid, idiotic, no-nothing, little…

Brick gripped his arms tightly and fell to his knees, his head down. "N-no... I won't do it."

Blossom floated down and landed right in front of Brick. Despite the hair covering his eyes he could see the shine of her shoes. Then she knelt down in front of him, face to face, with her brilliant pink eyes staring at him.

"Why not? You did it before."

Brick stopped breathing. This person... this girl, who he personally wanted to slaughter more than anything at that very moment, was kneeling less than six inches away from his face.

Brick clenched his jaw more tightly. He shut his eyes, but that only made it easier to feel the burning. The irresistible urge was almost too much. The overpowering yearn to attack her caused his body to tense, ready to spring; ready to strike her down.

But he compelled himself to remain seated. It took every ounce of self control he had to keep still. What was she thinking!

* * *

><p>Boomer watched from behind the glass, unbeknownst to Brick, as the two leaders fought. He was horrified. This was their test? What kinda test was this anyway? They must be crazy, they must be.<p>

Brick appeared to have had enough and fell to the ground with his arms wrapped around his torso. He was shaking pretty violently and Boomer was just waiting for him to fall to one side and curl up in a fetal position.

He wanted to leave, to just walk out. Go upstairs maybe, go outside. Go somewhere. But not only did it feel wrong to just leave Brick alone in the simulator with Blossom, even though he couldn't really help him, leaving the room meant risking running into Bubbles.

After witnessing what Blossom was putting Brick though, Boomer decided staying where he was would be a safer option.

* * *

><p>Blossom's eyebrows turned down in confusion. If this really was driving Brick crazy, if her sitting in front of him made him want to kill her, then why didn't he fight? They were offering him the chance, why not take it? She knew that was a very likely motive for them to come to her and her sisters for help, splitting them up and getting them out of the picture when they least suspected it. She was offering him the same chance she had now; take down the leader. Why wasn't he taking it?<p>

Brick quickly streaked back a few yards in a flash of crimson light, anger apparent with his eyes still blazing. It still stumped Blossom how they did that, after all she was sure her and her sisters couldn't.

He glanced down to his hand that now held a forming power beam and seemed startled. He clamped down on his forearm with his opposite hand.

"I... I don't wanna hurt you..." he all but mumbled.

She folded her arms across her chest, her analytical glare unchanging. "Why not?" Why not now? Yesterday sure, tomorrow most likely, but here he stood today. If his story about instinctively striking them down before was the truth, which Blossom was foolishly starting to believe, then he was obviously in a lot of pain.

"Do I need a reason not to hurt someone!" he yelled, but he looked down as soon as he finished. It was common for liars of little skill to lose eye contact often.

Blossom tilted her head as her eyebrows knitted together. Keep the questions simple, she thought, look for loopholes in more evident places first. "But aren't you Mojo's newest weapon?" she said this as if it were a question.

Brick's eyebrow furrowed as he gritted his teeth, still pressing his arm to his side. "...and?"

And? That was it?

"Weren't you created to destroy us?" she pressed.

As Blossom spoke, Brick's right arm jerked violently again, the scarlet glow intensifying. He fell down to one knee, his other foot planted firmly on the ground, and groaned. "S-so what if... w-we were? M-makes no d-difference..."

She was beginning to feel some guilt, but she shook it off. She needed to question him now; if he wouldn't fight her, this was the perfect opportunity. With his head so filled with hate, as he'd like her to believe, then if he was to ever slip up or make a mistake it would be when he was drowning in the desire to kill, or rather trying very hard to keep up the charade.

Blossom kept her face fairly blank, "Then why did you guys attack us when we first met?"

Blossom could hear Brick's teeth clamp together tightly before he spoke, his head still down and eyes closed, "I already... t-told you!"

Blossom's glower darkened. "You seem to be doing a fine job of not killing me today," which compared to yesterday he was.

Brick opened his eyes slightly, but he didn't seem to be focusing on her, and glared back down at his glowing palm as it thrashed under his grip. "Mojo ordered us to. And w-we weren't expecting... we didn't know."

Brick's hands left his sides, his right hand rising slowly in front of him in Blossom's direction with a crimson light radiating from the center.

Brick's eyes glowed with the same hue as his hand, "Blossom... you have no... idea... h-how close I was." He glanced down at his shimmering hand one more time, then he shut his eyes tightly as it rose the last few inches so that it was on the same level as Blossom's face.

"LOOK OUT!" he yelled as his hand fired a beam of red lightning towards her. Blossom's eyes widened, he actually shot at her. She was beginning to think he never would. A shock ran across the ground, accompanied by the sound of an explosion. Blossom dodged the blow rather easily, unbeknownst to Brick, who was steadying himself from the recoil. He faced a cloud of smoke that covered the spot Blossom had been standing, and his eyes widened with worry. He whispered something, but Blossom was too far away to pick up on exactly what. In the area of combat, he was still very much untrained and it insulted her to think that he'd managed to defeat her yesterday.

The smoke started to clear, revealing her presence, and Brick breathed a sigh of relief. Blossom shook her head; these reactions seemed very genuine, not even the slightest hint of satisfaction had appeared on his face after the blast. Blossom was becoming worried.

Then the surrounding area began to fade away, just like the smoke, and the white tiles surrounded them once again. The Professor and Buttercup came into view in the window ahead of them, along with Boomer.

"Blossom?" the Professor called.

Blossom floated over to the glass window, keeping an eye on Brick as she passed, "Yes, Professor?"

The Professor readjusted the microphone with the tips of his fingers. "How did he do?"

Blossom knew what the Professor was actually asking, disguised as a more expected question. He wanted to know if she'd learned anything, and if Brick had kept up his end of the charade. It wasn't part of his question, but the anxiety in his eyes also made it clear that he wanted to know if she was alright, so she smiled at him as an answer to his unspoken doubt.

Blossom glanced back at Brick for a moment, thinking over the question, before turning to the window again. "I... I think he's still tired from the monster fight earlier. Maybe we should test him a little later." In other words, she hadn't learned anything but she was sure there was more he was hiding.

She could practically feel Brick's eyes widened behind her.

"Are you sure?" the Professor asked again.

Blossom nodded, there was nothing else she would get from him now, but she would later. "Why don't you give Buttercup a chance? I can tell she's more than ready." If they couldn't break the leader, then next came the lackeys. And a good leader always feared for his lackeys.

Blossom turned to see Brick's jaw dropped slightly as he eyed Buttercup jumping up and down with enthusiasm. Maybe she would get something out of him yet.

The Professor turned back to Blossom. "Alright, you two can come out now."

Blossom smiled and headed over to the door with Brick following close behind. Much closer than he had during the fight, she noted.

* * *

><p>Brick watched as Blossom turned the handle and smiled at her sister and the Professor before stepping out of the simulator. Brick tried to look around her, but the door was still half shut, making it impossible to see anything other than the empty space above her head. "Alright, Buttercup, you're up!" she encouraged eagerly.<p>

"Yes!" Brick caught a glimpse of Buttercup pumping her fists back against her sides, a grin spread across her face. Boomer stood a few paces back, his bright eyes filled with worry.

The Professor smiled at her and turned to the hall that led to the containment ray. "Butch, can you come in here?"

"Hold it!" Brick pushed the door open the rest of the way with his outstretched arm. He'd just been forced to fight his counterpart in a lose-lose situation; he wasn't about to let Butch go through that too.

He glanced to his right to see Butch walking around the corner with Buttercup just barely out of his line of sight. "Butch, stop."

Butch stared back into Brick's warning glare with a look of confusion. Brick turned back to see Blossom standing a foot away from him, Buttercup, Professor, and Boomer behind her.

He gritted his teeth slightly as his head ached, but the pain wasn't nearly as severe as before, thanks to his power blast. He glowered at the Professor, irritated at the man that was responsible for the suffering he'd just endured. "My brother's aren't going through that. Not without an explanation."

The Professor blinked in surprise, "It's your physical."

Brick clenched his fists. "What kind of physical was that!" he growled. He felt his eyes burn slightly with his anger.

The Professor folded his arms together and eyed Blossom strangely. "Blossom, I thought you said he was too tired to take his test?"

Blossom gave the Professor an awkward smile as she turned back to Brick, her expression transforming into a glower. "Brick, can I talk to you for a minute without you going crazy?"

Brick returned the glare with crimson eyes that continued to glow brighter. "Maybe," he warned, unsure of the answer.

Blossom walked past him, past Butch, and down the hall towards the containment ray. Butch's eyes followed her as she strode past him, then his gaze settled on Brick as he trailed behind his counterpart.

Butch stopped him before he walked by. He placed his hand on Brick's shoulder, forcing him to turn around and look him in the eyes. Brick saw his brother's eyes widen as he glared back and knew that he looked awful; jaw clamped firmly, scarlet eyes blazing. Butch released his shoulder, "Dude, are you gonna be alright?"

Brick closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose and sighed through his mouth before reopening his eyes barely more than half way and stared coldly back at Butch, his eyes flaring with anger, for once, more than the urge to slaughter. "No promises."

Butch's eyebrows knitted together with anxiety, but he shrugged it off and began walking back towards the Professor and Buttercup.

Brick caught Butch's arm just before he turned the corner. "Do_ not_ go that way."

Butch gulped, "R-right."

* * *

><p>Blossom continued around the corner and down to the other end of the lab just before the stairs. The fight with Brick was really starting to bother her, but she just couldn't find it in herself to believe his story.<p>

"Can I help you?"

Blossom spun around to see Brick glowering at her just as happily as ever with Butch on his left. He eyed the two reds as they continued their staring contest, until he grew tired of watching them, and left. Still nothing was said for some time; Blossom didn't know where to start and frankly she was more interested in what Brick had to say.

"You better talk fast if you want to have a conversation before I lose it," he threatened.

She folded her arms across her chest, might as well start at the beginning, "Why are you here?"

Brick raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be some philosophical question?"

Blossom's glare darkened. "Why did you come to _us_ for help?" she specified, "Mojo's our archenemy." Sure, it wasn't like there were many other superheroes in Townsville they could ask, but still.

"You just answered your own question."

Blossom was becoming more and more annoyed, and she hated not knowing something he obviously did. She stood on her tip toes, staring Brick right in the face. "Why do you want _our_ help to run away from Mojo? He made you, didn't he? To destroy _us?_ Which you almost did yesterday!"

Brick clenched his jaw, shut his eyes, and turned his head away from Blossom's face. "Why are you doing this to me?" he groaned.

"Why?" she taunted, "If it _really_ makes you want to kill me so bad, why not just get it over with and be done with it?" Why not kill her? Then Mojo would be happy and the Rowdyruff Boys would've succeeded in their purpose. If she was out of the way, his life would be that much easier.

So why not?

Brick turned and glared right back at his counterpart with crimson, hate filled eyes. "_Don't_ tempt me."

Blossom fell back on her heels and she stared at the ground, deciding for once to give him some space. Brick clenched his fists in frustration. "You really are suicidal, aren't you?"

She completely ignored his question. "It won't work," she stated calmly, sternly.

Brick's eyebrows furrowed, "What won't work?"

Blossom glanced up at him, knowing full well what she was about to do, "I know it's not true, that story you told us. I know you're not here for our help." Let him in on _their_ charade, let him know that they knew he was lying, and judge his reaction.

"What!" he yelled angrily.

"Brick, just how dumb do you think I am? You _can't _be made from my DNA, you would be a girl! And Mojo ordered you and your brothers to attack us yesterday and apparently you almost killed us, but I'm supposed to believe you guys just left the job unfinished for no reason? If you really had an insane urge to kill us, why would you stop? And now you came to _us_, the same Powerpuff Girls you tried to destroy less than 24 hours ago, for help?" She glared at him as she finished, "How could anyone believe something like that?"

"Well then, little-miss-smarty-pants," Brick snarled, "If you know everything, why don't you tell me why I'm here?"

"I don't know!" she nearly yelled back, "I don't know why you're here, and I don't know what you could possibly want! If you really did want to kill me so bad, I just gave you the chance, didn't I? If you really wanted all of this to be over, to be free from Mojo and to not have to deal with the pain of seeing me, why didn't you take it?"

"Because I can't," he finally said, sounding almost defeated, "I just… can't."

"Why not?"

"I have no frickin' clue!"

"Don't go and give me some spew about feeling some 'attachment' because we 'share DNA' or some other garbage."

"Heck no."

"Then why-"

"I don't know!"

This was new, something he hadn't told them before. Brick's eyes were blazing now, shifting in a strange way from bright to slightly dimmed and back again. This could definitely be a loophole.

He decided to start speaking again while she considered this, "Why would you bring us to your house then, if you didn't trust us?"

"We can't have you running loose in the streets, can we?" she answered calmly.

"We're not animals you know."

"You're right, you're not animals. You're villains."

"What if we attacked you again?" he challenged.

"We can take care of ourselves," she said, turning her back to him for only a moment.

Brick smiled mockingly. "Hate to tell ya this Blossy, but it sure didn't look like you could take care of yourself yesterday."

Blossom whipped around and glared daggers at him, "Do _not_ call me that!"

His expression changed to a glower. "You have no intention of helping us, do you?"

"As far as I'm concerned, you don't need any help from me."

He spoke through clenched teeth, his voice husky for whatever reason, "Blossom, everything I've told you is true."

He'd closed his eyes again, something that had become a normal habit of his, and Blossom took the time to run though the conversation again. He had been angry, which she had expected, but not quite as furious as she had anticipated. He seemed more… disappointed now. Disappointed she didn't trust him, which if he was being exposed was not a standard response.

He seemed to be shivering now, and he opened his eyes again. "You have absolutely no idea how far gone I was, how close you were to death," he snapped. "Blossom... if there was any other way to escape from Mojo, I can almost guarantee that you wouldn't be breathing right now."

"So you _do_ want to kill me," she mocked. "And here I thought earlier you told me you didn't, and just now you told me you couldn't."

Brick shut his eyes and turned his back to her. Eye contact was apparently not one of his strong suits, "Personally I don't want to, you're just being difficult and it's beginning to get frustrating. But…" he paused, "Well, it's like you said. Mojo created us specifically to destroy you." He glanced back to her wearily and his eyes brightened yet again, "I'd say he did a pretty good job."

Blossom's eyes tightened. "If you want to fight me so bad, why didn't you do it when we were in the simulator?"

This seemed to startle him a little, and his voice had a strange edge to it as he spoke, "Because we need your help, and you wouldn't be very much help if you were dead."

"You told me you couldn't kill me," she reminded him yet again.

"I'd rather not risk it," he warned. "My brothers need your help too, and I'm not about the kill you just for some instant gratification."

"So what will you do now?" she taunted, "I'm not going to help you, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe I'm of any further use to you other than a punching bag." Okay, that might've been stretching it. There probably wasn't a need for her to put herself in the line of fire.

He didn't answer for a moment, and Blossom was starting to worry that she really had gone too far with the taunting and actually made a suggestion that Brick might favor.

But then he went off on a previous tangent, "Is your life really that intolerable?" Blossom rolled her eyes.

But he continued anyway. "So what was the point of trying to make me kill you back there anyway?"

"I would've been fine," she protested.

"What was the point of that?" he asked again, stressing each word carefully. He seemed to want to move to a different topic, and she would allow it for now. If he didn't want to talk about not being able to kill her for the time being that was okay; she'd be interested in hearing the explanation he could come up with later.

"Why does it matter? Like the Professor said, for you guys that would be considered a standard physical." Make him assume the worst, make him believe that if he stays here nothing will improve, and see what he does.

Just another experiment.

But he didn't seem particularly angered by this. She knew she was being impossible to deal with; that was the idea, and that was what seemed to bother him more. His hands started glowing again, and for a moment Blossom was worried Brick would fight her now, now that he was losing control again.

"Oh, forget it!" Brick shook his head and flew past Blossom, up the stairs, and out the door.

Blossom shook her head. She had been beginning to believe parts of his story, despite her better judgment. It was true, he didn't show the signs most other villain did when their plots had been discovered, but still…

Mojo creating his own clones of her and her sisters. Being forced to attack the Powerpuffs. Changing their motives and wanting to be good. Shock remotes. Him's DNA. Chemical X. Fighting instincts. Glowing eyes. Boy clones.

She just couldn't believe it.

* * *

><p>Brick raced up the stairs, out the door, down the hall, and finally out into the open air. He fell to his knees in the grass, digging his fingers into the soil, his breathing fast and short. His muscles began to relax as his arms shook, his power beginning to fade away with Him's influence. Brick stared wide-eyed at his shadow below him, the red light from his eyes illuminating the spot where a dark outline of his head should be.<p>

_Kill her_...

He clenched his jaw again, biting hard as he waited for the voice to fade. It made his head spin. Sweat trailed down his forehead and dripped from the tip of his nose.

"Brick?"

He glanced up to see Butch walking over to him. "You needed some fresh air, too?" his brother asked.

"Yeah," Brick sighed, his breathes still coming much too quick. He shivered as his eyes refused to dim, the red light still dancing widely on the blades of grass in front of him.

"You hear that beeping?" Butch asked.

Brick attempted to focus, to listen to the sound, but his head was pounding too much for him to concentrate. Brick shook his head, but that only made his head spin more.

..._kill_...

Brick groaned at the sound of it. He wished it would stop.

"You okay?" Butch asked.

Brick didn't answer; he continued to gasp for air, waiting for his blurry vision to sharpen again and for his head to stop spinning.

Butch raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you?"

Brick shook his head, unsure if he would be able to speak clearly. He tried anyway, still panting, "I was so close..."

"What? To going crazy again?" Butch finished for Brick, chuckling.

"It's… not funny Butch! It was… I almost lost it... completelyl!" Brick protested between breathes.

"You're such a drama queen," he laughed.

"Oh shut up…"

Butch still giggled, "You did better than I ever could."

"Huh?" Brick peeked up at him.

The green boy shrugged. "Sure, like a few minutes ago. Man did you look shot, but you still held out. You were even able to stand. _Stand!_ And she was talking! I don't know about Boomer, but dude, I can't even be in the same room as Buttercup."

Brick's breathing began to slow, but it still wasn't quite at its regular pace. He hadn't noticed his change in breathing while talking to Blossom. He gulped in mouthfuls of air, "I... don't know Butch... I could've... _really_ hurt her..."

Butch shook his head. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, dude. It's not your fault. I'm surprised you were able to stand so close to her. You were even able to look her in the eye and talk and stuff."

Brick released his grip on the ground and sat down on the lawn, holding his arms tightly. He kept his head down; he didn't want to look up at Butch when his eyes still so filled with hate.

Butch's eyebrows knitted together. "Geez, dude, why are you letting this bug you so much?"

"It doesn't, it's just..." Brick searched his thoughts for an answer. Honestly, he wasn't really sure why in upset him so much, but then again he was pretty furious at Blossom too. All that work and she wasn't going to help them. Some superhero.

Butch remained silent as Brick thought. He'd been staring off into space through most of his reverie, but then he focused in on his bangs when he noticed they were brighter than usual. After a moment, he realized it was from the glow of his irises as they shimmered before him on his hair. Why were they still glowing?

..._her_...

Brick's breathe caught as he heard the almost inaudible call coming from his head. He tensed, ready to restrain it. Why would it bother him again? Blossom wasn't even around.

..._help...her_...

What!

This voice that spoke... it wasn't the same dark, malice chant that had plagued his mind before. Not even close.

..._help her_...

A strange energy coursed through Brick, not painful in any way, but still strong and overpowering. This new energy compelled him to stand, and his eyes widened. He glanced over to Butch, his expression mirrored on his brother's face. Then his body began to radiate with a bright scarlet light surrounding him before he subconsciously took off into the sky.

He looked back to see Butch staring up at him with wide eyes. "Where are you going!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Brick yelled back just as his brother vanished from sight, and he flew onward.

* * *

><p>This was bad. Really, really bad. Worse than the time the Mayor accidentally turned Dynamo back on bad.<p>

Bubbles had been fighting this giant orange dinosaur for what seemed like hours. Then the mayor must've called Blossom, because she had just showed up a little while ago but she was completely out of it now. And she looked pretty worn out. Bubbles had guessed that Brick must've beaten her in their simulator match.

Anyway, this monster just wouldn't stop. Bubbles wasn't even sure it knew she was there. It had managed to knock Blossom out almost instantly, but Bubbles had no idea where she was and was currently recovering from getting slammed into the ground for the umpteenth time herself.

The monster spun around to face her, its tail whipping around behind it. But then its tail stopped midswing and just hovered there a little ways above the ground. What was going on?

* * *

><p>"Just what do you think you're doing!"<p>

Blossom groaned and tilted her head from side to side in the pile of rubble she was lying in. There was just no way.

"...B-Brick?"

"You're not dying on me!" he yelled back at her, "Not yet!"

Blossom stumbled to her feet, dirt and dust splattered across her face, a deep gash on her left cheek. She glared back at him. "What are you doing here!"

"Apparently you need my help!" he shouted, holding up the monster's tail. Blossom ogled at this for a moment, dumbfounded at how easily he seemed to be able to stop the creature when she'd been knocked out instantly.

"But how did you know where I was?" she continued to question, "And what's with the perfect timing?"

"When you figure it out, let me know!"

What was that supposed to mean?

Brick flew up into the air, the monster now dangling by its tail below him. He held his hands in front of him, tail tightly grasped, and jerked his hands down to cause a whiplash to run through the creature as it landed a couple dozen yards away.

Blossom flew up next to her counterpart. "I can handle this myself!" She hated needing people to come to her aid, especially this person.

Brick didn't seem to happy about that, and glared back at her, "If you didn't need me, I wouldn't be here! And would you please go float somewhere else!"

Brick darted away from Blossom and she just raised an eyebrow at him for a moment. He was a good actor, he hardly ever faulted.

"EEEEEEEE!"

* * *

><p>Brick turned just in time to see Bubbles get shot down by the colossal monster's claw, causing her to crash into a nearby building.<p>

"Bubbles!" Blossom streaked just past Brick, her hair brushing across his face. His eyes glowed deep scarlet before he quickly shut them and turned away, his jaw clenched with annoyance. It was a wonder to him that that pink Powerpuff Girl was still alive.

"Blossom!"

A split second before Bubbles' scream, Brick's head shot around, eyes wide, to see Blossom get pile-driven into the ground. He instantly shot towards the girls; landing near the whole Blossom's impact had left in the street. He heard the almost inaudible sound of Bubbles' gasp, obviously not expecting to see him there.

Brick peered down into the cavity to see Blossom lying in a mound of rocks, unmoving. Her clothing was splattered with dirt and grime, her bow torn, and the cut on her cheek staining her face and shirt with blood.

Brick shut down. His heart stopped; his mind dazed and clouded. His hazy eyes remained fixed on Blossom as his arms went limp and he fell to his knees. Brick could vaguely make out the noise of Bubbles' high pitched voice calling his name, but just barely.

He felt something, some force pulling him somewhere, he always did. But now he didn't know what it was or what it wanted him to do. His head was empty.

Once realization started to set in his eyes burned with rage. He stood and faced the monster, his fists already smoldering with crimson light. He gritted his teeth until he thought they'd shatter like glass.

The monster merely glanced down at him before turning back, his tail lashing out against the buildings around Brick and Bubbles. Brick shot upwards to avoid the strike, heading up to the monster as he attempted to strike back, before stopping in midair at a sound behind him.

Brick froze and glanced back to see the buildings surrounding the newly-made pothole begin to collapse, pieces of skyscrapers raining down on Blossom's crater.

He searched frantically for Bubbles, only to find her slumped against a building farther away after being struck by the creature's tail; clearly incapable of helping her unconscious sister.

Brick's head spun, panic causing his thinking to delay. Time seemed to slow as he watched the debris fall from the sky. What could he do? There was no way he could help her, he was already far worse than crazy.

Segments of his earlier conversation with Butch ran through his head, filling up his lack of coherent thoughts.

"_You did better than I ever could... you still held out... I can't even be in the same room as Buttercup."_

Brick shook his head; he couldn't.

His eyes widened as the piles of falling building neared his counterpart.

"_You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, dude."_

Brick shut his eyes tightly, attempting to think of what to do without any distractions. In a desperate attempt to do something, Brick began blasting away at the rubble as it fell, trying to stop it before it reached the ground. However, he quickly realized there were too many fragments for him to destroy them all. Panic began to rise in his heart again.

Then one of those voices popped back into his head.

_Help her!_

Brick no longer had a say in his actions; he subconsciously shot down towards Blossom, his eyes blazing. He flew faster than the debris falling around him, nearing his target that much quicker and as soon as he reached the hole, he scooped Blossom up in his arms and rocketed back into the sky.

Pain.

Brick felt his blood boil, poison seeping into his limbs and his body cried out in agony as he bit down on his lower lip, his head spinning. He was on fire, burning alive from the inside out.

_Kill_...

Stupid little nice voice goes and shuts up after he does what it wanted…

Brick glanced down at the girl in his arms and when he did, the light from his eyes intensified to the point where his pupils were engulfed in scarlet rays completely while his hands lit with fire, the crimson flames leaving scorch marks on Blossom's skin.

_Kill._

_Slaughter._

_Destroy._

Brick shut his eyes tightly, the heat from his eyes burning his eyelids while the menacing voice continued to chant, and he bit harder into his lip as he slowly began to hear his own voice echo the demon's.

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

"K-k-kill..." The word slipped through Brick's mouth and as it did, a more powerful wave of temptation, of pain, coursed through him. He had to find a place to set Blossom down, otherwise...

He opened his eyes and turned back to see a powerful blast trailing behind him and he followed the trail to find the dinosaur at the end of it, a beam shooting out of its mouth. When he glanced at the creature, Brick was vaguely aware that it had been red instead of orange along with the building and the street and the sky; his vision was stained with scarlet light. He glanced back again and watched as the building behind them fell silently to the ground, smashing into the street; his hearing was drowned out too.

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

Brick's eyebrows furrowed in frustration and he clenched his jaw as he realized he had no options left.

He would have to take Blossom back to the Professor.

Brick streaked past the building, past the monster, the city whipping past him in a blur.

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

"Slaughter..." A lump formed in Brick's throat as the chant escaped his lips and heat flooded through him, the power of Him's immense strength causing him even more agony from holding it in.

He flew faster and faster than he ever had, narrowly missing skyscrapers as they passed.

Brick's eyes widened as he felt a warm liquid seep through his sweater and touch his arm. He glanced down to see the blood from Blossom's cut stain his shirt a darker red.

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

"D-d-de..." Brick looked up to see the Powerpuff Girls' house, almost reaching his destination and he glanced sideways as a streak heading off in the direction he had just come in, the color indistinguishable from the red filter covering his eyes. Brick turned forward relieved to see Butch still standing in the front lawn, his brother's eyes wide.

_Kill. Slaughter. Destroy._

Brick quickly landed in front of Butch as he almost ran him over and handed Blossom to him, "TAKE HER INSIDE!"

* * *

><p>Okay! Okay! Redhead girl in his arms! Redhead girl in his arms! What should he do! What should he do!<p>

Butch rushed back into the house, searching frantically for somewhere to put the Powderpuff. Uh… Uh… Oh, the basement!

He flew back downstairs, relieved to find the Professor closer to the stairs than Buttercup.

"Special delivery!" he shouted, hurling the deadweight at him. He didn't wait to see if he had caught her or not, guessing from the sounds he heard as he raced back outside that it had been a close save. Butch darted back out the door, searching frantically for Brick who was now performing an interesting light show above the house that consisted of multiple loop-de-loops and circles.

What the heck?

Butch flew up towards Brick, but he was moving too fast and would instantly fly off in some other direction.

"Hey!" Butch shouted and Brick zoomed past, "Would ya give it a rest already? You're like a house fly on steroids!"

With that, Brick stopped and turned to face Butch with two flaming hands and a death glare to match. Oh geez…

"BUTCH!" Brick yelled, his hand turning palms out towards him, "Use a force field!"

Butch crossed his arms together in front of his face as a green sphere surrounded him. Idiot probably went nuts again, nuts times 10.

Brick shot towards him, striking the barrier with his flaming fist and making the barrier shake. Both him and his brother shared a look of shear shock as their red and green auras dimmed and a white light engulfed them both as well as the town surrounding them.

Butch opened his eyes just in time to see the fast approaching ground below.


	5. Reluctance

**Well, I was in a writing mood recently, so here's another chapter ^^ Don't expect these to be posted all the time though; usually I take a couple weeks or so between chapters. Anyway, I hope you guys like it! ^^ And for you Bubbles and Boomer fans, they get a little spotlight too.**

**Please review as always ^^ And thanks for reading!**

* * *

><p>Bubbles watched helplessly, still lying in the remains of the office building wall and windows, as Brick flew off with Blossom. Or maybe she was more or less sitting; she was upright with her back against the rubble. She had no idea what Brick was doing, or where he was going for that matter, but she hoped Blossom would be safe. And she was completely blown away that Brick had done that, since she actually believed their story unlike her sisters.<p>

He seemed to have distracted the monster for a little while, and Bubbles took the opportunity to dislodge herself from the wreckage and shoot towards the monster again. She'd been fighting it since the Mayor called, when Blossom had been in the simulator and Buttercup was too engrossed in watching the fight to notice the phone ringing.

But that was okay. She could handle this herself. But she was getting awfully tired, and the monster seemed completely unaffected by her attacks and just kept throwing her into buildings and cars.

After Brick flew completely out of sight, the dinosaur turned back to her and while it wasn't very easy to accurately judge the expressions of monsters, Bubbles thought he didn't look very happy.

She shot up towards his, or at least she assumed it was a boy, head as fast as she could. Maybe it was a girl? Her head? No, she was pretty sure it was a boy.

Anyway, the monster turned to face her and just as she was about to punch it in the nose it opened up its mouth.

No, no, no! Getting eaten is bad! Very, very bad!

Bubbles tried to slow herself down, but she was still going much too fast and she was practically hovering over its tongue.

Bubbles shut her eyes and tried with all her might to pull back and fly away, but then something going very fast and very hard rammed into her side and she rocketed back to the ground.

* * *

><p>"Oh, Blossom! Buttercup!" The Professor called. Blossom was back already? That was quick.<p>

Buttercup left her seat at the simulator and flew over to the Professor who was standing next to the stairs semi holding up an unconscious Blossom who was half sitting on the floor. Holy crap!

"What the heck happened to her!" Buttercup rushed over to them, helping the Professor carry her over to a spare hospital bed they kept in the basement for just such emergencies, not that this type of thing happened often.

"I don't know," the Professor answered as they set her down on the cot, "Butch came running in and practically threw her at me before rushing back out the door."

"Butch!" Buttercup snarled. That stupid, gross, idiotic, low life, mockery of herself! He did this! "Where is he! I'll kill him!"

"Calm down Buttercup," the Professor said, holding his hands up, "It might not be his fault."

"I bet it was Brick," Buttercup growled again, "I knew we shouldn't have brought them here, I knew it!"

"Now Buttercup," the Professor tried again, "Let's go see if we can find them first."

Buttercup marched up the stairs with the Professor behind her, cussing all the way. First she was going to blast a hole through his chest and tear his lungs out and pop them like balloons. Then she was gonna yank out all that long orange hair of his and stuff it all down his throat. Then she'd hog tie him and throw him in the ocean for the sharks. Then she'd-

Buttercup's internal ranting ceased when she opened the door and found two battered, bruised, and bleeding Rowdyruffs knocked out in their front yard.

* * *

><p>Boomer shook himself off a little, having had the wind knocked out of him after landing on his stomach. He pushed himself off the ground and turned back up to the monster. He couldn't believe he'd just flown straight into its mouth, he didn't even know why; he'd shut his eyes just before he thought he was going to slam into one of its teeth.<p>

He did slam into something though, something much softer than a dinosaur tooth. And that something just happened to catch his eye since she was lying only a few feet away, slightly closer to the monster, and staring up at him in complete shock with those bright blue eyes of hers.

Bubbles.

Boomer panicked instantly, not even giving himself enough time to lose control of any kind and shot off to the edge of the damaged area, pressing his back against one of the buildings that was still standing, and keeping his eyes on Bubbles, who looked just as terrified just then as he was sure he looked.

This was bad. Really, really bad. Watching Brick and Blossom's battle had freaked him out so entirely he couldn't even speak. He was almost trembling with fear. He watched helplessly as Bubbles stood up slowly, taking one step back and then two steps forward. Please don't come over here, Boomer pleaded to himself. Please?

He thought he heard Bubbles say his name, barely more than a whisper, but then he glanced back behind her to see the monster raise one of its colossal feet above her head.

"Look out!" he shouted, and Bubbles stopped in her tracks, turning around to face the creature before closing her eyes and screaming.

No, fly away! Fly away!

Then Boomer felt the pull again, wanting him to go towards her. That more overpowering, somewhat pleasant pull that he'd gotten the first time Butch tried to kill Bubbles, but right now he just thought he was going crazy. He couldn't go over there, that's where Bubbles was! He'd kill her for sure!

But despite his efforts, Boomer took off flying at top speed towards Bubbles once again.

* * *

><p>Blossom groaned and tilted her head from side to side, as it already felt like her head was swaying. She tried to open her eyes, but they'd only open half way or so. She was lying on something, a bed maybe? She'd been expecting something more along the lines of what used to be the west wall of the Mayor's office.<p>

She glanced around the room, realizing that she was back in the Professor's lab. How did she get there?

She let her eyes circle around the room before eventually staring back at her feet where a little ways back Butch was strapped to one of the Professor's machines. He didn't seem to be awake.

But before Blossom could ponder over this anymore, she fell back into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Bubbles fell to the ground, skidding a little ways away. She immediately sat up and turned back in the direction she had come from to see Boomer's upper half sticking out from under the monster's foot.<p>

"Boomer!" she cried, racing over to him, but stopped halfway when he made a mangled groaning sound and his eyelids tinted a dark blue. She couldn't even get close enough to help him.

There had to be something she could do. What would someone normally do if they were being stepped on?

Then Bubbles had an idea and slowly floated up to the monsters head, "Um, excuse me, Mr. Monster. I was wondering if you'd, uh, be so kind as to stop squishing my friend under your foot and stop destroying Townsville. We like our town very, very much, and I would appreciate it if you would just leave. Pretty please with sugar lumps on top?"

The monster just stared at her for a moment, but then lifted its foot off of Boomer and Bubbles thought she could hear him gasping from all the way up there. And then the monster turned around and stomped back into the water.

Bubbles giggled and waved goodbye, "Thank you!" Then she floated back down to where Boomer was still lying on the ground, gasping for air.

"Boomer?" she asked, "Are you o-"

Before she could finished her question, Boomer's head snapped up, eyes shining, and took off in the other direction until he was almost the size of an ant.

"-kay?" Bubbles finished.

* * *

><p><em>I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna kill him.<em>

"Buttercup?" The Professor asked, peeking down from the door at the top of the stairs, "Don't you want to-"

"No!" Buttercup growled, folding her arms together and using her foot to rock her chair back and forth on the back two legs. Once they woke up, they were dead. Especially that stupid, arrogant redhead.

The Professor closed the door without another word. She continued to rock back and forth, constantly glaring at the two of them, but mostly Brick. As much as she despised Butch, she was sure this was all Brick's fault and she would enjoy burning his hat off.

* * *

><p>Boomer stayed where he was, not moving an inch as Bubbles stared back. He wasn't hurting too bad, mostly just from getting squashed, but he wasn't about to risk it.<p>

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," he yelled shakily out of fear, but not too loud. Bubbles would be able to hear with her super hearing and all. And she wasn't that far away.

"That's good," she called back, "Thanks for helping me!"

At this Boomer thought someone had lit a match in his stomach. Just a match though, not a full fledged fire or anything, but it still hurt.

Then Bubbles started flying closer to him again, so he flew back a few paces. So she flew even closer and he backed up again. After the second time she landed and started talking as she stepped closer at a slower pace, "Do I bother you?"

"I-I-I… um…" Boomer didn't really know what to say. He didn't want to say yes, that would sound mean. But he also didn't want her coming any closer than she already was.

And yet she was still walking towards him. Well, it was more like hopping at this point because she would float a ways, land, float again, and land again, over and over. And then Boomer would dart of in another direction, like they were playing a game or something. He could've sworn he heard her giggle as she did.

Boomer continued jumping around her, and somehow this new game of theirs was distracting him rather well. For a second he thought he might start laughing too, and at one point he did. He was just having too much fun playing what seemed like a form of tag that he didn't notice his eyes start to glow brighter, or his blood start to sting.

Then Bubbles swung her palm out towards him and struck the center of his back. "You're it!" she squealed.

Boomer stopped moving, stopped breathing, stopped blinking. He just froze. That pat on his back had felt more like a nuclear bomb, utterly destroying his heart and lungs and now spreading radioactive remains to the outermost recesses of his body, all the way to his fingertips. He turned ever so slowly, catching Bubbles' gaze with plain, wide eyed fury.

She stumbled back a ways in shock before falling flat on her butt and continued to crawl backwards until she ran into the building behind her.

Boomer watched in silence, not even considering looking away as he began to rise above the rubble. He could feel his throat muscles ripple to form what could be a sonic scream while his fingers tightened with cobalt sparks flying from his palms.

The girl didn't move, petrified by fear. They say that you forget the most obvious things when you're afraid. She looked like she was about to start crying, and he just smiled wickedly back at her.

_Good. Let the baby cry her little heart out._

That snapped him out of it for a moment; whoever had said that, it horrified him to think he'd thought it himself, Butch had called him that before. The first time, Butch had called him a baby when he'd cried over this girl.

No, Boomer shook his head. This girl… she had a name.

"B-Bubbles?" he mumbled, lowering his arms as he trembled, falling abruptly back to the ground.

"Boomer!" he heard Bubbles shriek along with the rustling of debris.

"No!" he shouted instantly, "No, don't come near me…"

He heard the rustling stop and everything seemed quiet for a moment. But then there was a sobbing sound coming from where Bubbles was sitting a few feet in front of him.

He didn't know what he felt then; he felt so guilty, so sorry for scaring her like that and for thinking the things he had, but at the same time…

Even the faint sound of Bubbles crying made that flame in his stomach grow.

* * *

><p>Brick shivered as he began to wake, feeling strangely cold. He blinked groggily to see he was back in the lab, and scrunched his nose as a pounding sensation from his head flooded his senses. He groaned and attempted to rub his forehead, but was alarmed to find that when he tried to move his arm all he could feel was an icy sting on his wrist before it refused to budge.<p>

He glanced up to his hands to see that they had been bound by steel-plated cuffs. He looked down to find that his sweater was gone and his chest was covered in suction cups with wires clipped to the ends. He struggled to move his feet only to realize they bore matching anklets, which were fastened to an iron slab behind him. He shivered again; the metal felt cold against his bare back.

He looked down to the cables on his torso again and followed the cords as they drooped to the floor, leading to a strange device. It beeped and buzzed as readings flashed across its multiple screens. Brick's eyes widened as he watched one of the monitors rise and fall as he breathed. He shuddered again; he wished he had his sweater back.

He glanced down at his feet, and noticed another pair just within his peripheral vision. He glanced up to see Butch bound to the plate alongside him. His shirt had also been removed, similar wires strapped to his body. He was covered in bruises and scattered cuts. His right eye, the only eye Brick could see from that angle, was darkened and his hand looked as though it had been burned, blisters plastered on his palm, his fingers red. His eyes were closed; he must have still been knocked out.

"Ugh, finally!"

Brick's eyes widened as he turned to see Buttercup standing in the center of the room, hands on her hips, eyes bright with anger. Boy, did she look mad.

* * *

><p>Bubbles didn't know what to do. For one thing she was still very much petrified from Boomer's near loss of control. He'd come and saved her out of nowhere when she'd least expected to have anyone saving her. He pushed her out of a dinosaur's mouth! But she'd let herself forget about what Brick had said to them before, about not talking, about Him's influence.<p>

It had scared her, a lot. All of a sudden she'd been all alone again, and her knight in shining armor has almost pierced her with his lance. He looked just as angry, just as frightening as that first time, and she wasn't about to forget it. It was just one of those bad memories that leaves a stain in the back of your head. It would always be there.

Buttercup had always told her not to hesitate, that even a second could chose a victor, but that look…

She didn't want to bother Boomer anymore, didn't want to make any more mistakes, so she rose from her seat on the ground and began walking away.

"Boomer," she whispered back, and he jolted as though she'd just woken him up with a blow horn, "I'm going back home. Please follow me once you feel up to it."

"Bubbles? Wait."

Bubbles stopped in her tracks, "Yes?"

He didn't move, still stretched out on his front side with his face to the ground. "Why the tests?" he asked, "What Blossom did to Brick…"

Bubbles bit her lower lip which was starting to shake. Her sisters would kill her for this later, but Boomer had just saved her from being eaten alive, and then squished.

"We were testing to see if your story was true, and how badly you wanted our help," Bubbles sniffled.

Boomer didn't seem too happy about that, "You thought we were lying?"

Bubbles didn't answer.

"But you didn't volunteer?" he pressed a little more calmly.

"No…"

"Why not?"

"Because…" she said, preparing to take off and attempting to hide her tears, "Because I believe you." She shouldn't have told him all this, it could ruin everything. But she was the most trusting of her sisters, and she felt like she could trust Boomer not to hurt her. He'd just had the perfect opportunity after all.

"Thanks for helping me Boomer," she smiled back, whipping her tears away before lifting off the ground.

"Hey, wait."

Bubbles turned to see Boomer rising from his spot on the ground and float over to her cautiously, still keeping his distance.

Bubbles' hand flew to her mouth, "Boomer, are you sure?" She could see that his eyes were still glowing brightly, but he smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'd get lost on my own anyway." Then he smirked, "Just no more tag, okay?"

* * *

><p>"What did you do to Blossom!" she yelled, her eyes flaring. That no good, lying, son of a…<p>

For whatever reason, the idiot seemed to find his brother more interesting than Buttercup's question and turned anxiously to him before asking in a hushed tone, "Do you ever shut up?"

The green Powerpuff stomped up to the panel and glared Brick right in the face. "I told you I wasn't gonna let you hurt my sisters again! What did you do?" She'd been running over her previous thoughts of bodily pain, and she was currently stuck on yanking all his hair out by the roots and hanging him with it. She was sure it was long enough. Except he could fly… Shoot, time to come up with another one.

Brick glowered back at her. "I saved her!"

Buttercup huffed out a humorless laugh, "Yeah? From what! Blossom can handle herself!"

"From this giant orange dinosaur."

Buttercup's expression remained unchanged. "Right, like I'm supposed ta believe that! For being saved, she sure looks banged up."

Blossom was still on the cot they'd placed her on before with a thin blanket covering her. They'd bandaged her up and attached life line wires, as Buttercup called them, to her as well. Who did that punk think he was fooling, she looked awful.

Well, he looked pretty speechless now as he gawked at her. Bet he didn't think anyone would ever find the body.

"Now fess up," she barked, "What did you do?"

He just glared back at her, "I did nothing."

That was it! No more fooling around! She was gonna blast that redhead smack dab between the eyes and turn his brains to mush. She let her eyes flare up, preparing her laser vision as he pulled at his cuffs again. This would be fun.

"...B-B-Butt-tercup..."

* * *

><p>Blossom tilted to the side to get a better view. It was impossible to remain asleep with those two arguing, and from the sound of things Brick was in for a beating from Buttercup.<p>

Well, he had stopped that monsters tail from whacking into her, so she might as well help him out a little.

"...D-don't," Blossom coughed. She sounded terrible and helpless. Dang it.

Both Buttercup and Brick, who she could see now that she had moved, turned to her with obvious concern, but then Brick's face quickly turned into a sneer before he turned to scowl at the wall.

Buttercup rushed to her side. "Take it easy, Leader Girl. Brick got ya pretty bad."

Wait, what? Brick didn't do anything to her. Not that she remembered.

"B-Buttercup... he didn't..." she tried to explain. She sounded pitiful. Absolutely pitiful.

"What?" Buttercup shook Blossom's shoulder gently.

"Buttercup!"

* * *

><p>Brick and Buttercup turned to the stairs to see Bubbles fly down. She landed eagerly in front of her sister, hopping up and down, speaking in short and quick shrieks.<p>

"Buttercup, you should have seen it!" she cried excitedly. "There was this giant orange dinosaur and it was really strong! And I fought it as hard as I could, but it didn't do anything. And then Blossom came and tried to help me, but we still couldn't beat it. And then the monster swatted at Blossom and she couldn't get up and it was gonna whack her with its tail, but then Brick came outta nowhere and caught its tail! He caught it! And then he threw the dinosaur! And then I almost got hit again, and Blossom saved me, but she got knocked out, and then the dinosaur made all the buildings fall down around us, and Brick went back to save Blossom! And then the dinosaur fired at them with its mouth and he ran across the side of the building just like you do! Then he flew off and I tried to punch it in the nose, but then it opened its huge mouth and I thought it was gonna eat me, but Boomer came out of nowhere and pushed me out of the way. And then the monster stepped on him and I got really mad and asked the monster to leave, and..." Bubbles paused for the first time to think, "And, uh, well… he left."

Buttercup just looked at her sister in complete and utter shock, her jaw dropped while Bubbles just smiled sweetly and shrugged. Brick smirked down at her, "Thank you Bubbles."

Buttercup turned slowly to Brick, one of her eyes twitching. Bubbles looked over at him too.

"So, why are Brick and Butch hooked up like that?" Bubbles asked.

Brick glared at Buttercup. "Mind explaining?"

Buttercup groaned. "It's just for some health-sciency junk. All I know is that the cuffs are made of Duranium and those wires are like lifelines with Chemical X and electric shocks if your hearts stop, which really wouldn't be all that disappointing... Anyway, right after Butch practically threw Blossom at us he ran back outside, and we followed him after setting her down and found you guys knocked out on the front lawn."

As she finished her explanation, the Professor walked down the stairs and up to the Ruffs and Puffs, Boomer trailing behind him. Brick's eyes widened as he glanced from Bubbles to Boomer, back and forth. He eyed Boomer as he approached with the Professor before he smiled over to Bubbles and going to stand by her instead. If he was experiencing any pain at all from Bubbles he was doing an amazing job hiding it.

"Brick," the Professor began, grabbing Brick's attention, "And Boomer, and Butch too even though it appears he's still unconscious, please forgive my behavior. I was wrong about you. I thought that Mojo might've-"

"Professor!" Buttercup hissed, "What're you doing?"

* * *

><p>"No, it's fine Buttercup," Bubbles turned to see Blossom swing her legs over the side of the bed into a sitting position. She really didn't look like she was doing very well.<p>

"I told Brick we knew they were lying before," she continued.

Bubbles tensed and glanced back up at Boomer who was looking down at her with a worried expression. Well, this might mean she was off the hook anyway.

"What!" Buttercup yelled, and Bubbles shivered. "They could still be spies for Mojo! This doesn't change anything!"

"Maybe," Blossom allowed, "But maybe not."

"Don't tell me you believe them now!" Buttercup yelled, swinging her hand out in Brick's general direction. "I've never heard anything more ridiculous in my whole life!"

"We owe them Buttercup-"

"We don't owe them anything! They beat us up one day, then save you the next! If we're anything other than enemies, then we're even!"

Bubbles watched from the sidelines as her sisters fought like always. It seemed to have become a much more common scene than it used to be.

"No we're not Buttercup. Not enemies, and not even. And we will hear them out one more time. They have the benefit of the doubt."

Buttercup looked like she was going to argue again, so Bubbles decided to butt in like she did every so often.

"Please Buttercup?" she asked, "I-I'd like to hear their story again too."

Buttercup's eyes widened, but she merely scowled back at Blossom and Brick before muttering, "Fine."

At this Bubbles glanced back up hesitantly at Boomer again, who seemed to be fairing pretty well now thanks to the Professor, and was obviously happy.

"You're wondering about Boomer?" the Professor asked. Bubbles looked up to see that Brick had been staring at them.

Brick nodded, "Yeah, what's… why doesn't he…?"

The Professor chuckled. "It's my newest invention, and it's all thanks to your testing, Brick." Brick raised an eyebrow.

"When you flew off to help Blossom, you were still wearing the heart monitor, and it was still transmitting data all the way here while you guys were fighting. I'm actually very impressed." Bubbles watched as the Professor stepped over to the simulator. When he returned, he was carrying a printout of some sort.

"This is the reading that was sent back here. Now I didn't explain this very thoroughly, but the heart monitors do much more than keep track of your heart rates. They also track breathing, strain, a variety of things. But in order to monitor as much as it does, it first scans a small sample of DNA based off of skin cells. However, during your fight with the dinosaur, the monitor seemed to begin to overload do to a constant 'shift in wearer'. Brick, you never removed it, did you?"

"No," Brick answered. All of this was confusing Bubbles very much. Why would the watch keep overloading if he kept it on the whole time?

The Professor nodded, "Then it seems that the only explanation is that your DNA was altered during your fight, and not just once. Multiple times."

Blossom's eyes widened, "B-but that's..."

"Impossible?" the Professor nodded, "Yes, that's what I thought too, but there's no other explanation. The monitors even sent copies of Brick's DNA back here to my computer, but the different DNAs were almost exact matches each time, and he was still wearing it when we found him unconscious." The Professor paused in thought for a moment, rubbing his chin before turning to Brick again. "But Brick, the girls did say that you and your brothers had been created using Him's DNA, and I'm sure it was his DNA that caused the mutation."

"As you fought the monster, the string of Him's DNA in your body, or rather the amount of change in your genetic makeup, would spike at particular points but never got too high. But then, I assume this was when you picked up Blossom, the meter went crazy. Your DNA was fluctuating so much, that the signal changed every millisecond. Once it settled down, the reading still continued to rise steadily. I was sure you had attacked Blossom again, especially when Butch brought her inside. I'm sorry I doubted you, Brick, and thank you for helping my daughter."

Brick smiled up at the Professor. "Um, no problem?" Bubbles giggled at his embarrassment, he was even blushing.

* * *

><p>Blossom readjusted herself on the cot, thinking over what the Professor had said. So it really was true, her presence did have an effect on Brick. Apparent a painful, DNA altering one.<p>

Buttercup folded her arms together. "So what does this mean, Professor?"

"Yeah?" Bubbles nodded, "And why didn't they...?"

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Why didn't they kill us yesterday?" Bubbles nodded again.

Blossom shifted a little, staring at her lap. She'd argued with Brick about that earlier, but this time she was too ashamed to look up. If the rest of his story turned out to be true, then that meant he'd been through a lot because of her.

The Professor turned back to his chart. "Well, through that whole fight, there was one thing that made me think Brick might have held out. Brick, you said it hurts you and your brothers when Him's DNA takes over?"

Blossom looked up out of the corner of her eye to see Brick nodded.

"When you carried Blossom home, that time was the worst, wasn't it?"

She thought she saw Brick shutter slightly, but he just shut his eyes and nodded again. He really wasn't good at eye contact.

The Professor smiled. "Through that entire incident, the concentration of Him's DNA in your system never exceeded more than half of the altering gene, which makes me think that 49% might be the maximum amount of influence Him's DNA can have on you. Meaning that the other 51% is from Blossom's DNA. The first time you six met, I assume you and your brothers attacked instantly, which would be expected, but you stopped for some reason you didn't understand before you finished, correct?"

Brick glanced sideways at Blossom and they both turned away. "...y-yeah," she heard him mumble.

"Then that factor might very well be the reason you stopped. Because," the Professor chuckled, "Well, because you guys really aren't all bad."

"Right..." Blossom looked up to see that Butch was now awake. "This science junk is so confusing." Brick sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, and another thing you should know. It appears Him's DNA caused a few unusual mutations in your DNA. For one thing, his blood caused the change in the girls DNA that was given to you, making you boys."

Brick turned to Blossom and smirked, and she nodded back. They'd argued about that too.

"And Chemical X seems to have fused with Him's DNA, which is why when you were under the containment ray's effect you didn't feel as much, if any, pain."

But Brick seemed to have another question, "Um...Professor?"

"Yes?"

"Why..." he trailed off, "Why do we want to hurt the girls? Why them?"

Blossom froze. They would've been prepared to answer this question had they been lying, Mojo would've made sure to come up with an answer to every question, but if they really didn't know…

The Professor smiled meekly. "Well, I may be wrong, but I think Mojo might've hypothesized that Him's DNA would react with the girls' in such a way that it might cause a mutation that would give you the innate desire to attack the Powerpuff whose DNA you share."

Blossom glanced up again when they stopped talking to see Brick huff as he stared at the floor.

"But there is still one thing that puzzles me..." the Professor trailed off, rubbing his chin.

Brick lifted his head. "Yeah?" Blossom turned to the Professor too.

The Professor's hand fell to his side, "Just what happened to you two after Butch dropped off Blossom?"

Brick glanced over to Butch, who was looking at him too. Blossom just barely caught the apology from Brick as Butch smiled lightly and they turned back to the Professor who was still looking for an answer to his question.

"I-I..." Brick stuttered, hanging his head. "...I went after Butch."

Blossom didn't even look away as Brick judged their expressions, eventually making his way over to her. He looked completely crestfallen. Why? Why would he go after Butch? Wasn't it her that he wanted to kill?

"Brick, I can't thank you enough," the Professor said, catching Brick's attention.

"You'd been in contact with Blossom for so long before you reached here that you weren't able to calm down right away, and went after Butch in Blossom's place. It really is a wonder you didn't attack her instead. Please, accept my apology for how I've been acting."

So that was it. That's what happened…

Brick eyebrows scrunched together and he bit his lip as he ducked his head. "I-It's fine Professor…" he muttered before glancing over to Blossom warily and looking away again.

How could she have missed so much after the dinosaur knocked her out? She'd told Brick to stay out of it, it was her fight. She didn't want him helping her if it was such a burden, something that would make him attack his own brother. Now it would only add to the ever expanding list of things she needed to apologize for. She didn't want him playing the hero for her; that was her job.

"Professor?" Buttercup asked, "Now that they're awake and all, maybe we could get them down and go have dinner?"

The Professor turned to her, "Oh, right. Yes, I'll go upstairs and finish up while you guys take care of Brick and Butch."

Blossom removed the wires attached to her arms before sliding off her cot and going over to help Brick. She wouldn't talk, she wouldn't argue, and she wouldn't do anything else that would constitute an apology for the rest of the day. She owed him that at least.

Her own personal vow of silence.

* * *

><p>"Thanks," Brick hopped down from the iron plate and rubbed his wrists. It felt nice to finally have the cuffs off. He felt something strange on his cheek and reached up to brush it off when his hand came into contact with a strange material plastered just below his right eye. As he pressed his fingers against it, he felt a sting from a cut underneath. It must have been a bandage.<p>

He turned to Blossom with a smirk, fully prepared for her newest accusations and arguments and already coming up with his own comebacks to some of the questions he was sure she would ask, but she only nodded meekly and floated back a few steps before eyeing him with caution. Brick's smile faded as his eyes fell to the floor.

Well, she finally was giving him some space, just like he wanted. But it made him feel... strange, like he was being ostracized. He'd never thought that Blossom might actually do as he asked, but he just shook his head lightly. He knew it was for the best. Even then he could still feel Him's influence; no matter how faint, he knew it was there.

Brick turned to watch as Bubbles unfastened Butch's shackles and his eyebrows knitted together. Why had Blossom been the one to free him? She seemed so concerned about the distance between them now, why would she release him when she understood what it could have triggered?

Brick glanced sideways at Blossom to see her gazing up at him from under her bangs, then quickly dropped her eyes and turned her head away. She still looked frightened, still wary. Did this mean she believed what he'd told her before?

But this new behavior was just too strange. Blossom, the loud, proud, suspicious leader who had yelled at him till both their faces were red, was now too timid to make a peep. He was tempted to reassure her that it was okay for her to talk and that he was becoming more and more accustomed to being around her, but decided against it just as he opened his mouth to speak, closing it quickly. Maybe she just needed some time to think...

She surprised him be speaking. "W-we should go upstairs..."

Brick looked back up and nodded. Butch fell to his feet beside him, scanning him over curiously, "You alright Dude?"

Brick glanced over to Butch, then back at the floor, "Yeah, I'm fine." After he answered, he briefly considered what Butch might've been asking if he was alright with Blossom standing so close, but he quickly shrugged it off. It was the same answer either way. After all that he'd been through standing a few feet away from his counterpart was almost effortless. Almost. But he knew Butch, and probably Boomer too, might not be able to take it nearly as well. Not yet, anyway.

Then it dawned on him; the Professor had never explained how Boomer had been able to stand next to Bubbles without feeling anything.

He quickly turned back to Blossom. "Do you know what... uh, know how Boomer..." He wasn't really sure how to ask what he wanted; asking these sorts of questions politely was never easy and her new behavior was making him nervous. He thought if he said the wrong thing she might shatter into a million pieces.

But Blossom smiled in understanding and shook her head, remaining silent. Brick's eyes fell back to the floor. So now she knew not to speak to him, now that he could probably handle it well enough.

"The Professor will explain it when we go upstairs," Bubbles answered, floating back over to the door atop the staircase.

"Well, let's get going then." Butch said eagerly as he began to float off the ground to join Bubbles, and then noticed Boomer standing in the doorway at the top of the stairs.

"What about their clothes?" he asked.

Bubbles turned back to the brothers with a look of confusion on her face as she thought about Boomer's question. Brick rolled his eyes as he was hit with a lump of red fabric.

"There!" He pulled the cloth off his face to see Buttercup standing next to the door, Boomer pressed against the wall behind her to make room. He looked rather frightened and watched cautiously as she left. Brick turned to see Butch's head covered by his sweater. He sighed and pulled his shirt on over his head while Butch did the same, but more hastily. He was probably excited to eat.

* * *

><p>"Okay, ready!" Butch eagerly took off after Bubbles after shrugging into his sweater and leaving the two red slowpokes behind. Blossom he could understand, well not really, but if you didn't know any better you would've thought Brick had actually eaten food before. You have no idea how hungry you get after two days in the life of Butch.<p>

"Ah, there you are." The Professor gestured to the chairs around the table. "Why don't you guys sit down," he smiled.

Butch flew over instantly, taking the seat next to Bubbles with Boomer on her left. Brick sat down next to him and Blossom scooted in to the chair on his right. Butch would never understand how they could bare to sit near one another, but then again it wasn't his problem at the moment since the spots next to him were taken.

"Please, you should take a sandwich. You boys must be starving," the Professor offered.

Butch eyed the large plate of assorted sandwiches that sat in the middle of the table and he could've sworn he was drooling.

"Don't mind if I do," he said as he dived in, grabbing three turkey sandwiches; two in one hand and a half eaten one held up to his face. Food… good food. He was so busy stuffing his face he hardly noticed the Professor take a seat between him and Bubbles.

"Professor, you never explained what...uh, you did to help Boomer," Butch turned to Brick, having forgotten about that completely, but his mouth was too filled with lunchmeat and mayo to say anything.

The Professor raised his eyebrows in confusion. "I didn't?" Brick's eyebrows knitted together and he shook his head slowly.

The Professor smiled. "Well, then I guess it's a good thing Buttercup hasn't come back downstairs yet."

Because of this last remark, Butch instinctively gasped when his mouth was still full and started choking, making a lovely gagging sound and some of his food started flying back onto his plate. He forgot! _He_ was damn lucky little miss macho was still upstairs.

* * *

><p>Blossom nibbled on her peanut butter and jelly sandwich as the Professor reached into his pocket. She really wished he'd remember things like this better…<p>

"I'm glad you reminded me, Brick." He handed Brick and Butch their color-coated watches and examined them more closely. Blossom inched closer to Brick slightly to get a better look, but then away. No, she wasn't going to bother him anymore today.

Brick seemed to notice and glanced over at her with an eyebrow raised before the Professor started speaking again.

"I would put yours on right away if I were you, Butch," the Professor warned and Butch quickly fastened the device onto his wrist clumsily as he gripped yet another sandwich between his teeth. Blossom watched as he did and the monitor sprung to life in flashes of green. A few bars appeared on the face as Butch twisted his hand back and forth and inspected it.

"I must say though, Brick..." Brick turned his head back to the Professor. "The way you're acting, I was sure I had given you your watch already. Is coping with Blossom really so easy now?"

Blossom glanced up at him again to find that he was looking at her, so she looked away. Now that she thought about it, he wasn't about to strangle her or anything like he'd been when they were fighting before.

"It's not nearly as bad as before."

The Professor smiled warmly. "That's good to hear. After a little more time you may not even need the watch."

Well, Blossom supposed that was good; she could live with less spontaneous violence.

"So what does it do?" Butch asked.

"This will help you to control your power," the Professor explained, pointing at the watch on Butch's wrist. "The three bars register your fluctuation of Him's DNA. As the meter rises, you can see how overcome you are by your power, but the watches themselves also contain a few elements similar to the containment ray downstairs, which causes your powers to dissipate. However, if something goes wrong and your powers surges, the watch will start to beep and transmit a signal to the other two and the computer mainframe downstairs."

"...k-kay..." Butch replied, still not fully understanding. Blossom rolled her eyes, though she doubted anyone could see since she was staring at her plate.

The Professor sighed. "I guess a practical test will help to explain things a little more." He turned back to the staircase behind him. "Buttercup?"

Buttercup floated down the stairs and landed next to her sisters. "Yeah?" she asked, her arms folded together.

The Professor turned back to Butch. "Now check your watch."

Both Butch and Brick turned to see that the lower of the bars on the watch had extended a small amount, just barely longer than the other two.

"You see, the bars will extend the closer you are to your counterparts, but they should keep you under control. Brick, I wouldn't have been able to create these without your help. I needed the data from your field test."

Blossom glanced up again to see Brick sling watch around his right hand and fastening it just below his palm. But then it was like he'd just shut down completely. His eyes were unfocused and he just stared at the watch.

"Brick?" Blossom mumbled sheepishly in an effort to snap him out of it.

He appeared to have heard her, but she only guessed that when he blinked. Otherwise he hadn't moved at all.

"Brick?" Blossom asked again. He turned to this time, his eyebrows scrunching together as he stared at her. He kept it up for quite a while, and Blossom was still expecting his eyes to light up again.

"Brick, are you okay?" Blossom asked yet again and Brick smiled. Blossom was feeling very left out of this inside joke of his. Well?

He turned back to the Professor.

"Great invention, Professor. It's a perfect success."


	6. Doubt

**Sorry for the wait guys. My editor went on vacation for a little while. But she's back now and was willing to reread this chapter again so it could be proofread for the rest of you. Hope you like it. And don't forget to review please ^^**

* * *

><p><em>His mind felt hazy, clouded, as he lunged back and forth. Once, then again. Over and over. He could feel his blood race, but his head was too foggy to fully comprehend the situation. He felt his arms whip around in various directions, trying and failing to make contact with an unknown target. He experienced the rush of wind brushing his face as he streaked back around, colliding with his goal and pounding into the ground. He rose slowly, grinning widely at his victory, just before everything clicked.<em>

_He'd seen this before._

_He looked down at the body lying motionless before him, splattered with blood that stained her uniform a darker shade of red. Her mouth was slightly open from the shock, both eyes still staring straight ahead. Her limbs were limp at her sides against her crumpled body._

_Blossom._

_Brick glanced down, his shirt much too dark compared to its original color, tarnished with a crimson fluid that wasn't his own. He stared wide eyed at his hands, drenched with blood. The power running through his veins grew hot and he was filled with a sick, smug satisfaction._

_Brick fell to his knees, his gaze never veering from his palms, the warm, scarlet liquid dripping down between his fingers._

_N-no_...

NO!

Brick jolted awake, panting heavily, sweat trickling down his forehead, his hands shaking. He felt like he was burning again, just as much as any other time. He forced himself to breathe more evenly, to calm down a little. It was just a dream, nothing to worry about, just a dream. Just Blossom.

Brick peeked up from under the lip of his cap to meet a pair of rosy pink eyes staring back at him, their light penetrating the darkness.

* * *

><p>Blossom stepped closer to Brick, watching his eyes carefully as he stared back. She'd promised herself she wasn't going to bother him for the rest of the day and, though she may have been wrong about this, judging by the fact that everyone was still very much asleep she figured that day had come to an end.<p>

Brick flinched slightly as Blossom approached and she stopped, remaining back a few feet. "I-Is everything okay?" she asked in a whisper.

"Y-yeah, fine," he muttered instantaneously, still eyeing her with caution. It might've just been the orange light coming from the ray, but Blossom was sure his eyes were brighter, just ever so slightly. Then he shook his head slightly, at what she wasn't completely sure, so she chose to ignore it.

Blossom stepped forward a few more paces before she was directly in front of Brick. She crouched down to meet him at eye level. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

Brick shook his head and Blossom lowered herself to the floor in front of him, sitting back on her heels. There was so much that she needed to say, and so much that she wanted to ask, but she didn't know where to start. For a moment they just started at each other in awkward silence, but then Brick's eyes started to shine a bit brighter and he closed them with a groan.

Blossom quickly dropped her eyes as she shifted into a tailor sitting position. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Brick glanced up in confusion, "For what?"

Blossom's eyes shot up in surprise, but then quickly fell back to the floor as she played with her fingers. "For.. well, um..." For everything? Did that sum it up? From the way he'd responded, he sounded like he wanted to apologize for something.

He huffed, interrupting her train of thought. "Blossom, this isn't something I want to be handicapped for, okay? You don't need to worry over every little sound you make."

She looked up, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on," he said, rolling his eyes. "You've barely said a word to me since the dinosaur attack. It's not like I bite or anything."

Blossom flinched slightly at his last comment and hated it. Showing fear, showing weakness, was not acceptable. But it had reminded her so much of her dream, and she wasn't one to dwell on nightmares or anything, but that one was just…

"You okay?" Brick asked, grabbing her attention again.

"Huh?"

But he just shrugged, "You just seem kinda shaken up about something."

"So do you," she retorted instantly.

He raised an eyebrow, "Me?"

"Yes you," she insisted. "You didn't look so great when you first woke up. You seemed a little… on edge?" She'd woken up just a few minutes before him, and he'd been incredibly pale and sweating bullets.

This seemed to hit something; he folded his arms behind his head and leaned back against the wall with his eyes drooped.

"Bad dream?" Why else did people wake up in the middle of the night? That's why she was up after all.

But he shook his head, "I don't know… it's nothing." Then he turned back to her, "But I asked you first."

Blossom shook her head lightly, "I... I'm sorry I didn't believe you before."

He shrugged. "You had no reason to."

Blossom's eyes widened. You had no reason to? Was that it? They'd yelled at each other so much yesterday about this topic, and now that she was finally accepting his story he was letting her off the hook? No way, not Brick. Something really was up, she was sure.

"But that doesn't really answer my question," he pressed. "What are you acting so nervous about?"

Nervous? Was she really acting nervous? She hated coming across as shy, but in all honesty her nightmare had been rather frightening; one of those nightmares that makes you sit straight up in bed and drip sweat like there's no tomorrow.

But she had to get past that right now. After all it was just a stupid dream. "Well, I wasn't exactly keeping my distance from you after you warned us and I just... you know, wanted to be careful."

"Believe me Blossom," he huffed again, "You'll know when I need some space. But until then, no handicaps?"

Blossom smiled and shrugged, "If that's how you want it."

Brick laughed lightly through his teeth. "But I can understand if you're afraid of me or something."

"Yeah, right," Blossom folded her arms together. As strange as it sounded, she really wasn't afraid or anything; she wasn't even cautious. Her dream didn't matter. It was just a dream after all. "Like Mojo could ever make anything that works right," she added.

Brick smirked and sat up, placing his arms back atop his knees and shortening the distance between them by a foot or so. "Well, as reasonable as that logic sounds, me and my brothers are an exception. Probably the only one."

His new posture surprised Blossom for a moment, but then she mused that he really didn't want to be "handicapped", as he put it. Blossom rolled her eyes. "Really? Why is that?"

He grinned arrogantly, "Maybe because I was made from you?"

Blossom just rolled her eyes again with a grin. Wait… was he trying to flirt! She froze for a minute, but shook it off. No, he was like, what, two days old? He probably didn't even know what flirting was.

"So why are you down here?" he asked out of nowhere. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Blossom shook her head, "My sisters and I wanted to keep an eye on you guys, so we came down here after the Professor fell asleep." Brick glanced back behind Blossom, only just noticing that her sisters were leaning against the same wall as she had been, asleep.

His head cocked slightly at her statement, "What's the point in that? We're already under the ray. You guys don't need to guard us too. And don't you think it'd be best to get some sleep after the dinosaur attack?"

"We just wanted to be sure," she shrugged. "Being superheroes as long as we've been, it comes with paranoia. And you guys got hurt from the attack too. Sorry we don't have any sleeping bags or anything." They'd insisted that Brick and his brothers spend the night at their house to keep them away from Mojo, but they would have to sleep in the basement under the effects of the laser. The Professor said the boys would need to take the watches off though, not really explaining why. Maybe he wanted to try fixing a few bugs or something.

Brick shook his head with a smirk, "Don't be, it's just nice not to be sleeping in a capsule."

Blossom's eyebrows knitted together. "Capsule?"

"Mojo had these capsules built into a closet or something with sliding glass doors. They're really not that comfy."

"I'm guessing you couldn't break out?"

He shook his head, "Tried for a good hour or so."

"How big were they?"

Brick looked down, "Just a little past my feet."

Blossom looked down too, judging the distance from the wall to his shoes. That really wasn't a whole lot of room.

"Thanks for helping me earlier by the way." She'd nearly forgotten; that was why she'd wanted to talk to him in the first place. "Not that you needed to," she added. "I really could have handled it myself."

Brick snorted. "Yeah right. You couldn't even stand."

She turned away, her arms folded together across her chest, "It wasn't that bad. Not bad enough for…"

"For?" he urged.

Blossom glanced back at him and sighed, "For you to bring me back. You really didn't need to... not it if was going to make you go after Butch and everything."

He just shrugged nonchalantly, "It's no big deal." His expression betrayed him though, his mouth curving into a heavy frown.

Blossom reached out and placed her hand on top of one of Brick's, which were still folded on his knees. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly for a moment, but then he glanced back to her and they fell when his eyes started to light up again. It didn't seem to bother him at first, but then he started squinting and he pulled his hand out from under hers to rub his eyes with a groan.

"Sorry," Blossom mumbled.

Brick's eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head, moving his hand back to his knee. "No, no handicaps."

"But-"

"It's nothing, just a little burning." Then his eyes warmed as the glowing began to fade, a slight grin spreading across his face. "I'll be fine. No more apologizing, okay? If anything I should be the one doing that."

"What do you mean you should be doing that?" she asked sternly. "What did you do?"

"Well, let's see…" he began, "Nearly killing you when we first met, which left a lovely first impression."

"That's it?" Blossom raised an eyebrow. "That's nothing."

His eyebrows puckered, "But that's-"

"Nope."

"But that's actually reasonable," he protested.

"And you're saying what I want to apologize for isn't?" Blossom raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah right," he scoffed. "What? You're sorry you didn't want to help the guys that beat you up? That's a big surprise."

"Well, I'm sor-"

"Oh no you don't," he interrupted. "If you're not going to let me say sorry, then you're not going to say it either."

Blossom stifled a laugh, rolling her eyes, "Then I guess it's settled then." She was never the best at apologies anyway.

Brick smirked, "I guess it is."

She thought she heard him chuckle, and found that she was laughing a little too. She was surprised how light hearted she felt now, almost as if she'd never had a nightmare at all. But all good things must come to an end; she was still tired and it would be a few hours until morning.

Blossom floated to her feet, much to Brick's surprise. "I'm going to go back over to my sisters and get some sleep," she explained. "You probably should too."

Brick's eyes fell for a split second before he looked back up and nodded with a smile, "Yeah, goodnight."

Blossom waved as she turned, "Goodnight."

* * *

><p>"<em>B-B-Boomer? Wha-"<em>

_Bubbles stumbled back after taking a hard hit to her face, giving her a fat lip that she was attempting to wipe the blood off of. Boomer had just come out of nowhere. Literally, nowhere. Everything around her was too fogged up, too blurry, to distinguish as anything. It was like she was walking around inside a thundercloud; everything was so cold and dark and hazy. And as much as Bubbles enjoyed flying through clouds, she had more important matters to attend to. _

_Boomer was still standing in front of her, his fist still radiating from when he'd punched her, and his grin still wide. Bubbles assumed he was looking at her; he was facing her after all, but he didn't have pupils or irises anymore. Just blue light._

_He sprang at her then, and she instantly dropped into a squat as he flew overhead. She glanced up wearily as he passed to see that his face was still turned towards her, his smiled stretching to the point where she thought his cheeks would rip._

_Bubbles sprang forward, in the direction Boomer had come in, but he quickly flipped around and was on her tail in a second. She swerved and weaved her way through the smoke, but he never turned away, never faulted. In fact, he seemed to be gaining on her._

_Then something struck her back, something hot and searing. But Bubbles refused to slow down; she'd fought too many fights in her short lifetime, and she knew better than to let herself stop for even a moment._

_But then something much harder and much more forceful rammed into her and held her arms to her sides._

_Bubbles squirmed in Boomer's grasp, but to no avail. He only squeezed her tighter, cutting off the circulation to her hands. She could've sworn she heard him chuckle._

_She had to get free, she had to. If she didn't…_

_Bubbles stared helplessly ahead as the ground rocketed up to meet them, shutting her eyes just before hearing a sickening snap._

Bubbles gasped, eyes wide, shivering; the usual symptoms of the average nightmare. Her heart was pounding and she gripped at her shirt.

She was leaning against Blossom, some of her sister's long red hair draping over her face. She was actually surprised Blossom hadn't woken up too; usually she was a light sleeper and would wake up too when Bubbles had a bad dream. She was tempted to wake her up, but Blossom had been through a lot of fighting lately and needed to sleep. Maybe she should go wake up Buttercup instead…

Bubbles was just about to lift herself off the ground and float over to Buttercup, but glanced up just in time to see Boomer's eyes shoot open from the other side of the room; two bright blue, blazing light bulbs that made Bubbles freeze.

Bubbles used her x-ray vision to see through Blossom's hair, thankful that it was covering her eyes. Boomer was practically dripping sweat, panting, and pressing his hand to his forehead.

Bubbles bit her lip, half expecting to taste blood on it. She couldn't move, couldn't look away; her eyes were glued on the blue light coming from his eyes that she'd come to recognize as a warning siren.

Eventually Boomer's eyes floated over to Bubbles, and she was sure she'd turned to stone. Heavy, solid, un-moving, stopped heart, frozen lungs; a victim of Medusa herself. Aside from the sweat dripping down her face that is. Like a stone that got rained on or something.

He stared at her for a very, very long time, and Bubbles could only hope he thought she was asleep. Just as she thought her eyes would pop out of her head and roll away, Boomer curled back up with his arms folded on his knees and put his head down.

But Bubbles didn't go back to sleep. How could she? She was too afraid to go wake up Buttercup now that Boomer was awake.

And she certainly wasn't taking her eyes off him anytime soon.

* * *

><p>"...Butch?"<p>

Butch groaned and rolled over. Too early…

"...Butch?"

Shut up. Wanna sleep.

"Butch...WAKE UP, SLEEPING BEAUTY!"

"ACK!"

Butch stared wide-eyed, his eyes crossed in a futile effort to see that his watch had smacked into his head, his teeth bit tightly from the surprise. Brick laughed at him.

Butch glared back at him, then faced foreword to yell at Buttercup, but stopped when he saw her. He didn't like her seeing his eyes twitch and spark to life, so he quickly fastened his watch on instead. Stupid Powderpuff…

"Buttercup, don't you think you should be a little gentler? The Professor's not going to be happy if their watches break," Blossom mentioned, tossing Brick his watch as well, but with much less force. Why was Butch the only one to have his watch slapped in his face?

Buttercup folded her arms together and huffed, "I still don't see why they're here..."

She wasn't exactly the nicest wakeup call herself.

Bubbles stepped around her grumpy sister. "Try being a little nicer, Buttercup," she advised as she came to stand in front of Boomer, one hand extended to help him up. Then Blossom came over and did the same for Brick.

Butch turned to the sound of stomping to see Buttercup approach. Uh-uh, there was no way he was going to accept any help from some sissy little-

Then Buttercup swung her hand down, smacking Butch on the cheek. "Get up, ya lazy Ruff!"

Butch scowled, rubbing his cheek, "Why you-" But then he stopped, blinking a few times. Had Buttercup just had a bloody nose and a cut across her eye for a second? No… Butch shook his head. Nah, he was just going crazy or something.

"Freak," she muttered before taking off up the stairs. Good riddance…

Then Bubbles walked over to him and meekly extended her hand.

He smirked. "That's alright," he said, quickly floating to his feet, "I've got it."

* * *

><p>Brick turned to see Blossom pacing and stop near the staircase, "Let's go upstairs. Professor said breakfast would be ready soon." She spun around and floated up the stairs.<p>

Brick walked past Boomer, who was waiting for Bubbles to finish helping Butch up, and hopped up the stairs after her, "Hey Blossom."

She stopped and turned back to Brick, her eyebrows curved down in a look of confusion.

"Is something wrong with your sisters?"

Blossom's expression quickly turned dark, but she kept her tone level, "Why do you ask?" She turned away and continued to float up the stairs.

Brick followed quickly behind. "Well, it just seems like they're acting strange. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but Bubbles looked a little shaky around Boomer. And Buttercup wasn't really in the best mood either. I was just wondering if they were okay."

For some reason unknown to him, this made Blossom come to a halt at the doorway and land slowly in front of him. She remained silent, her back to him.

"Blossom?" he asked again, "Are _you _okay?" She seemed to be fretting over something as well.

She whirled around quickly to face him, scanning over his face with obvious conflict. Finally, she answered with, "We're fine. Nothing's wrong," and twirled around again before walking down the hallway.

But Brick wasn't convinced. "Did something happen last night?"

"Nothing that concerns you," she replied, not bothering to look back at him. Normally he would've kept arguing until he got it out of her, but he just wasn't in the mood for that.

* * *

><p>Boomer followed Bubbles up the stairs and down the hall into the kitchen in awkward silence. The Professor was at the stove flipping pancakes and Buttercup was sitting at the table with her breakfast, but she was just poking at it with her fork, her head resting on her hand. Blossom stopped for a moment before sitting down and they shared a look. A second later, Buttercup returned to lightly stabbing her pancake with little interest as Blossom pulled out the chair she had sat in the night before, Brick grabbing the one next to her.<p>

Boomer took a seat between Bubbles and Buttercup just as he had the night before. He stared blankly at the plates in front of them, occasionally cutting out a piece and sticking it into his mouth. Every so often he'd glance over to Bubbles to see that she was looking just as miserable. What reason could she possibly have to look so sad? She didn't have dreams of pile driving people into the ground like he did. Maybe he was just over thinking it…

"What a lovely morning this is!" the Professor commented cheerfully, taking his seat between Butch and Brick. He noticed when no one responded, looking around the table to see that most of the meals remained uneaten. "Do you not like the pancakes?"

Brick answered, "No, they're fine." Even he didn't sound at ease.

Then Blossom's head snapped up to the sound of a strange beeping. "I'll get it!" she yelled, racing upstairs, her hair flapping in Brick's face.

"What was that about?" Butch asked as Brick readjusted his cap. "I heard that noise yesterday. Is it bad?"

"It's the hotline," Bubbles answered softly. "It means we have to go save the day soon."

"Why don't you take the boys with you?" the Professor suggested. "They could probably be of help to you girls, and you can show them the city."

Buttercup glowered down at her plate, the others remaining expressionless. Boomer was starting to get the feeling they weren't welcome.

Then Blossom raced back in, "Girls! The bank's being robbed again!"

Buttercup stood and punched her fist into her hand. "Alright! Time for some action!"

Brick turned around, placing his arm over the back of the chair. "Would you like us to come?"

* * *

><p>Would she like them to come?<p>

Blossom stopped in her tracks, staring straight at Brick. Should they come? What if Buttercup was right? What if they attacked the Professor while they were gone? What if they ran off? She didn't want to believe it, but last night was just too much of a coincidence for it not to mean anything. But Brick had been so nice to her…

And if they did bring them with, then what? They could turn on them, or at the very least get in the way. They didn't have any fighting experience at all.

"Come on, Leader Girl! We gotta go! Make up your mind!" Buttercup yelled, opening the front door.

Blossom gritted her teeth together. Three super powered girls had a better chance than one scientist if something was to happen. And this way she could keep an eye on them. "Fine, you guys can come!"

Blossom could practically feel Buttercup's rage as she flew out the door. She followed after her sister with Brick right behind her. She didn't waist anytime taking off.

"So," Brick began as he neared her. "Does this mean that you guys are going to need our help again?"

Blossom's eyes tightened and she shook her head. "Hardly. It means I don't want you and your brothers alone unsupervised."

"I wasn't aware that we needed supervising," he snapped, obviously insulted. "But then why wouldn't you just have Bubbles or Buttercup stay behind to watch us? Isn't it a hassle to bring us along if you don't think we're up to the task?"

Blossom turned to glare at him. "Is that what you'd prefer? To stay behind?" she offered coolly. Bringing them with had been her decision, but recently it seemed like a lot of her decisions were taking turns for the worst.

"What's with you?"

Blossom stopped and turned back to him, "Me?"

"Yes you," he snapped. "You weren't acting like this when I talked to you last night."

Blossom bit her lip. She wanted to trust him, but there was just something about the situation that made her think otherwise. Her head was spinning, leaning one way, then the other. While it was true that Brick had saved her life and been nice to her recently, she needed to consider all of the information, which included the accounts of her sisters' dream as well as her own. And that was just too much of a coincidence.

"I'm sor-"

"Ah!" Brick interrupted, "No apologies, just an answer."

"Brick, I just… I can't tell you."

"Why not?" he pressed. "I thought you finally trusted me, finally believed me. What happened between now and when we talked last night that changed that?"

Should she tell him? But then if he was part of it he would know it was working. He'd know it was making them on edge. But he knew they were on edge already. He really didn't seem to have any idea what was going on, but he should know something either way, shouldn't he? Was he just kidding? Did he really not know? What if they were wrong about everything?

Blossom started to feel that spinning sensation in her head again when she didn't know what to do. She didn't even know what she was thinking anymore, her thoughts barely made any sense.

"Brick, there are just some things that are kept between me and my sisters, the same way I'm sure there are some things that are kept between you and your brothers." Let him make what he could of that.

And with that Blossom flew off after Buttercup, no longer sensing any redheaded boy behind her.

* * *

><p>That idiot! How could she let them come!<p>

Buttercup rocketed towards the bank alone, ahead of all the others.

Which was how she preferred it at the moment.

How could Blossom let those guys come with? They were criminals! Well… they were created to destroy them at least! They'd just get in the way.

And after how they'd found Bubbles that morning, she was practically petrified. Something was up; there was just no way all three of them could have dreams like that without it meaning anything. And little miss perfect still let them come!

As Buttercup neared the bank she noticed the gaping hole in the wall; her entrance.

She landed amongst the rumble inside the building, pointing a finger into the establishment, "Not so fast you…"

Her arm fell back to her side. No way. Nuh-uh. Her, her sisters, and those time bomb friends of theirs had not just flown there for her.

"Aw, come on! You again!" she groaned.

"And just what do you mean by 'you again'?" Princess whined, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

Blossom and Brick landed next to Buttercup. Inside, all the patrons and employees had their hands raised, all staring at the girl in the center of the room. Her curly red hair was tied back into two bushy pigtails at the far ends of her head, same as always, and of course she had her Powerpuff knock-off suit.

"Princess," Blossom sighed, "Is this necessary? We do this once a week."

"So?" the girl complained, folding her arms together, "I _am_ the bestest bad guy in all of Townsville. You should show me more respect than that!"

"Why are you doing this anyway? What's the point? You're rich anyway, why steal money?"

"Because _you_ wouldn't let me be a Powerpuff Girl!" Princess griped, pointing a finger at Blossom.

"Yeah, yeah. It's all our fault! We know!" Buttercup yelled exasperatedly as Bubbles, Butch, and Boomer landed outside the bank.

"They called you out here just to deal with this little brat?" Brick asked, gesturing to Princess. Okay, as much as Buttercup didn't trust them, she couldn't help but snicker.

"Brat!" Princess shrieked, tapping the jewel in the center of her crown. "Nobody calls _me_ a brat!"

That wasn't good.

* * *

><p>Butch watched as a beam of white light shot straight for Brick from the jewel on Princess' crown, and Brick instinctively shot back with his laser vision, causing a small explosion. He glanced back to see Princess staring at them, jaw dropped, before running up to him and hugging him. What. The. Hell.<p>

Brick's eyes widened and the corners of his mouth turned down in a grimace.

"You're just like the Powerpuff Girls!" the little brat squealed. Brick stumbled a few steps before regaining his balance and looking down at the little monster of a girl that now clung to his waist. Personal space much?

"Okay, that's enough of that. Come on Boomer," Butch ordered as he stumbled through the wreckage.

"Flying would be helpful right now…" Boomer mumbled.

"Shut up."

"Um, can I help you?" Brick asked with just a hint of sarcasm, as he struggled to pry the girl's arms away gently. As soon as he loosened her grip enough to escape, he took a step back, and she began hopping up and down in front of him. Was she high or something?

"Uh, so you're Princess, right?" Butch asked as politely as he could manage, which wasn't very, as he and Boomer treaded through the rubble to where Brick was standing. As they neared, Princess turned to them and began to squeal again, causing Butch to stop in his tracks and look up with a wide-eyed expression. You've gotta be kidding.

"You must be the other Powerpuff Boys!" she squealed in delight.

"That's Rowdyruff!" both Butch and Boomer corrected instantly. How dare she call them Powderpuffs?

But it didn't seem to faze Princess; she just continued to bounce in place. "Can I be a Rowdyruff Girl?"

Butch's mouth fell open and he looked to Brick who seemed equally shocked. If he says yes…

"Excuse me?"

"I wanna be a Rowdyruff Girl!" she repeated, her eyes lighting up. "Those pesky Powderpuffs wouldn't let me be a Powerpuff Girl," she pointed back towards the girls, who were standing just outside what used to be the bank wall with matching glares, before carrying on with her explanation. "But you guys are just like them! So can I join your group? I'll make a great Rowdyruff Girl!" Brick's eyes widened.

"We're the Rowdyruff Boys! BOYS!" Butch yelled, still with no effect on the brat, whose constant jumping refused to halt. Her incessant hopping was driving him crazy and he was debating blasting her head off.

"Can I be a Rowdyruff Boy?" she pleaded again with the slight alteration.

Boomer blinked in confusion, "But you're not a boy..."

Brick folded his arms together, "Sorry, uh 'Princess', but you can't be a Rowdyruff boy... girl… it-thing."

"Please!" she begged, running over and hugging Boomer, who in turn yelped and fell over into a pile of bricks from the shock of being tackled. Hmm… guess flying would've been a better idea.

Butch couldn't take his eyes off of Boomer as he tried to wiggle away from Princess. It was like staring as some decaying animal you just couldn't peal your eyes away from. Maybe Butch would just singe her hair a little… just until those curly bushes fell out.

"Please?" she whined. "I wanna! I wanna! I wanna!" Butch watched as Boomer's expressions morphed from Princess shrieking in his ear.

"Hey!" he stepped over and picked her up by the back of her dress collar with his right hand, which was still wrapped in bandages from yesterday. He hadn't been using it much, and was surprised to find that it stung a little.

Princess refused to let go of Boomer at first, but released her grip after a moment and, much to Boomer's relief, let him fall back to the ground.

Brick came over to where Butch stood, glaring Princess right in the eyes. "Look, Princess, you just can't be a Rowdyruff Boy, you got it?"

"Why not?" she whined, crossing her arms.

"Because you're just a spoiled brat!" Butch complained, dropping her at his feet. She just sat there for a moment before she began to sob.

"I...I'M GONNA TELL MY DADDY!" she screeched as she flew off, breaking each of Butch's eardrums in the process. Boomer, on the other hand, fell back into the debris from the shock. As she darted out the gaping hole in the wall, another section of siding fell to the floor. Good riddance little brat.

* * *

><p>Boomer rubbed his head. She had such a loud voice…<p>

"Well, thanks for taking care of that, guys," Buttercup muttered coldly. Boomer turned just in time to see her take off, moving away from the wall. Bubbles and Blossom glanced back at the Rowdyruffs, then turned to follow their sister.

"Hey! Wait up a sec!" Brick called as he darted over to them, flying instead of walking, landing quickly once he got to the crack in the wall. Buttercup was already hovering a few feet up.

"What's up with you guys?" he asked in confusion. "You've been acting strange all morning."

Boomer rose from the wreckage and floated over to join them. So it wasn't just him; everyone was acting strange.

"You guys too," Brick added. Boomer immediately looked up, only to realize that Brick was looking at him and Butch. He quickly dropped his eyes back to the ground as he landed.

"Blossom..." Brick started again, "You said something happened with you and your sisters last night?"

Boomer looked up to see Blossom nodded, but she looked a little suspicious. Her sisters seemed curious as well, Bubbles and Buttercup were now staring at him too, though Buttercup's was more of a glower.

"Blossom, you were awake because you had a nightmare, weren't you?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"When I talked to you last night, we were awake at the same time," he pressed. "I thought it might've been just a coincidence, but…"

"But what?" Blossom urged.

"Bubbles, and Buttercup too. You were both acting a little strange this morning. You had nightmares too, didn't you?"

Boomer watched as all three Powerpuffs' eyes widened simultaneously, each filled with shock. Bubbles and Blossom both turned to look at each other in surprise. Was that a yes?

Buttercup floated down a foot or two. "How did you know about that?" she demanded.

He hesitated answering at first, appearing a little worried, "Last night I… I had a bad dream. And I woke up in the middle of the night. And you guys were there, leaning against the back wall, asleep," he muttered, looking from Bubbles, to Buttercup, and then Blossom. "But Blossom, you were awake. And... we talked for a little while. But you seemed a little off. You were shaking, stuttering at first. I was too. But you seemed perfectly fine when you fell asleep again."

"But then I started to think," he continued. "Two people waking up at the exact same time; isn't that a little strange? Now I remember you asking me the same question, asking why I was nervous, and you asked if I had a bad dream. Sure, it was a perfectly logical thing to ask. So I started to wonder why you had been awake, and I couldn't come up with any other solution. It would've also explained, if my theory was correct, why you were so edgy."

Brick turned back to Boomer and Butch. "Butch, that's why you didn't say anything this morning, isn't it? When Buttercup hit you in the head with your watch, and when she slapped you, you didn't say a word. That's not like you."

Butch looked up for a moment before glancing away, his hands balling up into fists at his sides. Brick was right, Butch never acted like that.

Brick stepped sideways so he was completely facing them, "You had a dream too, didn't you? You felt guilty?"

Butch didn't answer at first. "What's the big deal? It was just a dream."

"But you did have it?"

"I had _a_ dream, sure."

"I'm not talking about just any dream Butch," Brick pressed. "I'm talking about your worst nightmare."

Butch glowered at Brick before nodding, "Yeah. That was it."

Brick turned to Boomer, "Boomer?"

Boomer's eyes widened slightly, and he nodded too, "Y-yeah..." It was their worst nightmare; Boomer's, Brick's, and Butch's. Losing control was always a frightful experience.

* * *

><p>Bubbles' eye widened and she turned to Boomer. A bad dream…<p>

Buttercup folded her arms together. "Th-that doesn't prove anything! So we all had a bad dream! So what? Chalk one up for Mr. Sandman and we'll just go clock him one later! Problem solved!"

"Buttercup, if I'm right, then this is serious," Brick insisted.

"You don't even know what our dreams were about!" Buttercup yelled back. "How could you know if you're right or not?"

Brick shook his head, trying to think. Bubbles hopped he was wrong. Please, please, please let him be wrong.

Then he mumbled something.

"…struck in the back, sliced at the throat…"

"What?" Buttercup yelled.

Bubbles followed Brick's line of sight to Blossom, who seemed to be frozen in place.

"Butch," Brick called, "Your dream, how did it end?"

Bubbles looked to Butch just in time to see him twitch and go wide-eyed, "Dude, I don't-"

"How did it end Butch? Let Buttercup hear."

Butch's eyes fell back to the ground. "Clawed at the right eye, smashed the nose… snapped the neck."

Buttercup lowered herself back to the ground, her eyes shifting frantically from Brick to Butch.

"Well," Brick sighed, "if it makes you feel better, they say dreams where you die are good luck."

Bubbles froze; Brick hadn't asked Boomer to recite his dream but he might as well have. Bubbles didn't need any more convincing.

Blossom finally stepped forward, "B-but that would mean..."

Brick pressed his lips together and sighed heavily, "I'm sor-"

For some reason Bubbles didn't understand, Blossom's gaze quickly turning into a glare and Brick stopped speaking for a second.

"Er, I mean, well… It was different. I just wasn't thinking at all. I didn't know."

Bubbles was about to ask Boomer, who was staring at her rather guiltily, about their dream, but then there was a huge crash farther down the road. The girls spun around just in time to see a colossal robot peek its head over the skyline, thrashing around the city.

Bubbles glowered at the machine; it was time to save the day.

"Mojo!"

* * *

><p>As the android stepped closer and closer, Brick could see the evil grin of the monkey who had created him and his brothers behind the glass dome that resembled his helmet. Brick just gaped in horror, his legs refusing to move, his eyes never veering. He was afraid of what conclusion Mojo would jump to, seeing the Rowdyruffs with the girls and <em>not<em> attacking them. He _really_ wasn't in the mood for getting shocked today and he didn't want to have to try to fake a fight with the girls; they might just get confused and tip Mojo off. Brick glanced over to the girls, hoping they wouldn't say anything that might reveal too much.

Mojo's laughter rang through the streets, echoing though the amplifiers attached to the massive robot, "Mwahahaha! Powerpuff Girls! Today is the day I shall defeat you!"

The girls glowered back at the monkey's machine. Brick took a step back, attempting to creep away from Mojo's line of sight as slowly as possible and not grab any unwanted attention.

"Oh, look," Mojo turned to the Rowdyruffs, "It appears my boys managed to find you! How convenient!"

"C-convenient?" Boomer stuttered, turning to Brick. This was bad.

" Powerpuff Girls, prepare to meet your demise!" Mojo lifted his hand from the controls, holding up the small remote he had used before, his toothy grin expanding.

Brick's eyes widened as he stared up at the devise, waiting for the shock. Mojo's thumb neared the remote, but this time it drifted passed Brick's red button, along with his brothers' blue and green ones.

Mojo pressed down on the black button at the center of the remote.

Brick's heart thudded in his chest, almost bursting out with fear as he waited to get electrocuted again, surprised when he was not. He was just about to turn back to his brothers to see if they had any reaction to the remote's signal, but then it hit him.

* * *

><p>Blossom heard Brick cry out and turned to see him fall to his knees, and instantly started cussing in her head. She should've left them home! They'd been completely wrong about their dreams, and now look what happened!<p>

Brick was gripping at his scalp from under his hat and hair. His brothers weren't doing much better; Boomer's eyes were twitching, as was the rest of him, as a familiar sneer crept onto his face, and Butch was on all fours, digging his fingers into the asphalt. Blossom's focus returned to Brick when she heard the beeping, and saw the meters on his watch rise.

"Now, my boys!" Mojo cackled. "ATTACK!"

Boomer and Butch took of instantly behind Blossom, and she briefly considered flying after them before remembering that she would have Brick to deal with. Though he hadn't charged at her yet, so she needed to make use of this time she had.

She turned to Mojo, still perched at the top of this robot. He was holding something...

Blossom whipped around just in time to see Brick flying at top speed towards her with a flaming fist and crossed her arm in front of her face, his punch ramming into her wrists. She'd fought Brick only twice; when they'd first met and they fought at what she could only assume was his full power, and in the simulator when he was holding back. If only she knew how he would be fighting now.

Blossom shot upwards after several punches, Brick following close behind. She then came to a halt and shot backwards a foot or two as he continued to rocket upward. She pulled her arm back into a fist, waiting for her chance, when Brick shot right past her face.

"Remote…" he whispered.

Then he shot up and did a back flip above her head before spinning into a kick, which Blossom just barely managed to dodge. Remote? Wait, that thing Mojo was holding.

Blossom glanced up again to see Mojo holding a device similar to the one Boomer had showed them the day before. That was it! The black button!

"Girls!" she yelled pointing up to Mojo's robot. "The remote!"

Both Bubbles and Buttercup glanced up from their own fights for a moment to hear Blossom's orders, both streaking toward her with their lethal counterparts just behind them.

"Bubbles! Sonic scream! Buttercup, with me!" Blossom called as her sisters approached.

Bubbles opened her mouth as wide as possible, a high-pitched screech flowing from her open lips. The sonic waves of the scream flowed slowly towards the robot as all three Rowdyruffs approached.

Blossom swooped away as Brick rocketed right where she'd been floating, and took off at a downward angle. She just needed the glass to shatter, then she'd have her opening.

Brick was gaining on her, so she took a sharp right and turned back towards the robot. She'd just have to hope that Bubbles had shattered the dome by then.

And sure enough, when Blossom circled back up and around the dome was in pieces and Bubbles was off trying to avoid Boomer.

Blossom flew in towards Mojo and snagged the remote away as she passed.

And the boys fell abruptly to the ground.

Blossom forced herself to smirk, feeling bad for them but knowing she had to put on an act for Mojo. "So," she flipped the remote around in her hand, "Are they robots or something?"

"Robots!" Mojo sneered, "Hardly. They are my new sons."

"Then what's the remote for?" Bubbles asked, floating over to Blossom. Blossom smiled at her and Bubbles winked back.

"It increases their power and stimulates them! I can make them attack you as many times as I want with that, even after they get knocked out."

"Well, it's off to jail for you Mo-" Blossom's voice trailed off as her eyes fell on Mojo, more specifically Mojo's paw. Which now held another remote.

"Girls! Get th-"

But she was too slow.


	7. Decisions

**Hi everyone ^^ Thank you so much all of you who have been reviewing. It really means a lot. So here's another chapter. Only two more to go for those of you that are rereading until we get to new stuff ^^ Hope you like it.**

* * *

><p>Boomer's vision instantly returned and he shut his eyes from the blinding light and colors before soon realizing he was gasping for air and sweating bullets. He wasn't lying down as he had expected, but was instead kneeling on all fours, one hand raised. His limbs ached.<p>

Then his eyes began to focus on a figure just lying beneath him.

He jumped in shock, falling on his back. No. No, no, no, no, no. That did not just happen. He didn't… That didn't happen. It couldn't have. Blossom took Mojo's remote. He saw her take it just before he blacked out. He didn't. He couldn't. There was no way he could've lost control when he wasn't even awake.

And there was no way Bubbles was laying on the ground in front of him.

Boomer crawled over to her, the color draining from his face. One of her cheeks was bruised, her lip swollen. She had two large gashes on her forehead and one on her left arm which was surrounded by smaller ones. Her dress was torn in several places, often accompanied with blood spots.

Boomer bit down on his lip that was starting to tremble. Why? Bubbles had been so nice to him, nicer than anyone had ever been to him. Why did this have to…

"Dang it!"

Boomer didn't need to look up, nor did he want to. He knew Butch was angry already judging by his outburst, and Brick probably wasn't doing any better.

He heard footsteps, but didn't bother raising his head. Brick came over and squatted down next to him, scanning over Bubbles and then leaning forward to look at him. Boomer could feel the wet streaks on his cheeks.

Brick patted Boomer's shoulder lightly. "Come on, Boomer," he murmured, standing up.

Then a metallic screeching sound came from behind him. He turned along with Butch and Brick to see a hatch in Mojo's robot open up and a ramp extend into the ground. The monkey stepped out laughing arrogantly, remote in hand.

* * *

><p>Brick's eyes widened slightly for a moment before his eyebrows furrowed. After the girls had successfully stolen the first control Mojo must've had a spare, just like the time him and his brothers had tried.<p>

Brick sighed and glanced back at Blossom before dropping his eyes to his feet. Mojo must have reactivated the signal while he was out cold, which means he must've attacked her again while he was unconscious. That meant he wasn't awake enough to resist at all and Him's blood just took over without interference. Hey, he could figure things out for himself sometimes, or at least guess.

As Mojo approached the sound of his incessant chuckling grew louder. "Yes! Yes!" he cheered. "The Powerpuff Girls have finally been defeated!"

Brick's glum expression never changed as he scanned over the three girls lying in the clearing. He tried to look somewhat happy; after all, if Mojo really thought they were on his side then they should be, right?

"What's the matter with him?" Mojo asked, gesturing towards Boomer. "Why is he crying? There is nothing to cry about! This is our greatest victory ever!"

Brick and Butch exchanged a tired and defeated look. They weren't really in the mood for coming up with an excuse for Boomer. They were both fairly numb from the shock.

But Brick attempted to anyway. "He's... happy," he mumbled, a slight smile on his face that contradicted his dull eyes. "You know… tears of joy, and all that."

Mojo nodded in understanding. "You have a good point, after all this is a very beautiful moment," he agreed, a tear coming to his eye as he smiled, which he quickly wiped away.

Brick's eyes darted instantly to his brothers who were both looking up at him with the most heartbreaking expressions he'd ever seen them make. He smiled as reassuringly as he could muster and shook his head. The Powerpuffs weren't dead, but Mojo didn't need to know that. The Rowdyruffs could never kill the girls before and no black button was going to change that. Let Mojo think what he wants; he'll figure it out eventually.

"So…" Boomer sniffled, "They're gone for good?" He smiled a little, trying to keep up the act. Brick smiled back at him.

"No, not yet. While you boys were away I did some follow up experiments and looked over the materials regarding your creation, and it seems that merely increasing the flow of Him's DNA in your systems isn't enough to override the failsafe instinct you inherited from the girls when it mixed with Him's DNA, and so they are just on the brink of death but will not be dying because of you boys anytime soon. However, I have devised some new…"

Brick's attention span finally ran out somewhere in the middle of Mojo's rant. Butch had stopped listening too, and Boomer had been distracted by Mojo's various hand gestures for a while before his attention turned back to Bubbles. Keeping up the charade at this point didn't mean much anyway; Mojo was just pacing around mumbling scientific nonsense as always.

Brick glanced over to Blossom out of the corner of his eye every so often. There was no way they'd ever take them back, not now. They hadn't trusted them at all after the nightmares, why should the girls help them now?

This was starting to make Brick angry. Now what could they do? The Powerpuff Girls were the only hope they had of getting rid of those accused remotes.

Okay, so now they were down the support of the only superheroes in Townsville, right back where they started two days ago; Mojo yelling stuff nobody really cared about, and three Powerpuffs laying in the street.

Then Mojo abruptly stopped pacing, "Alright boys, time to go home."

Brick glanced up in surprise and saw both his brothers eyeing him with distress. He sighed; he'd forgotten about having a false home at Mojo's lab, and despite how much he did not want to go back with the psychotic monkey, he knew they had to. It would raise too much suspicion for him and his brothers if they stayed behind with the girls, and even though Mojo was a beyond stupid primate Brick was afraid of what the monkey might do to the Rowdyruffs if he found out they were plotting to run away with some help from the Powerpuff Girls.

"Yeah," he muttered, glancing back at his brothers, "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Blossom's eyes twitched as she began to wake. She turned her head, readjusting herself in her personal pothole. She had tried to push herself off the ground, but her right arm hadn't moved. She propped herself up on her left elbow instead, and her back burned where Brick had rammed into her.<p>

She looked up to see the boys walking up the ramp to Mojo's robot. What were they doing?

Brick and Butch entered the machine, but Boomer had been behind them and was now looking to Bubbles. He had streaks running down his cheeks; the only spots on his face not covered in dirt.

He saw Blossom looking up at him and his sulking quickly morphed into a wide open smile.

Blossom tried to push herself up with just her left arm, but there was something wrong with her knee, and she just fell back to the ground. She briefly considered floating up, but she didn't have the energy.

She glanced up to see Boomer panicking. He was holding his hands up and frantically shaking his head.

Blossom coughed a few times. What was he so worried about? She stopped trying to stand up and Boomer seemed to calm again before a voice from inside the robot called to him. Probably Mojo, or maybe Brick or Butch. Her head was spinning too much to make it out.

Whoever it was Boomer apparently needed to go, so he waved goodbye before following his brothers into the machine.

Blossom tried to turn to her sisters, but they were both still unconscious. She'd need to wake them up, but not just yet. She'd wait for her super healing to kick in a little so she could at least sit up properly.

And she had a lot of thinking to do anyway.

* * *

><p>Butch stomped into the robot, abruptly planting himself on the floor in the corner. Brick and Boomer eventually joined him at a much slower and quieter pace.<p>

Butch ripped at the bandages on his hand. His burns had been almost healed this morning, but now his hands were all bloody and he was having a hard time trying to distinguish his own from Buttercups. He was pretty sure it was his, 'cause his hand hurt like hell. How did those Powderpuffs heal so damn fast? They never had bruises or cuts or anything.

Butch stopped tearing at the wrapping and started playing with it absentmindedly. That stupid, stupid monkey. Why did he have to just come out of nowhere with his damn remote and all that stuff?

Brick hadn't been exaggerating before about Butch's worst nightmare. About _all_ of their worst nightmare… nightmares? Their's nightmares? Well, whatever. It sucked. It was one thing when he wasn't fighting Buttercup and he was just going mental because she was in the room or something, at least he was still the one telling his arms what to do, but what just happened… that was even more messed up.

Butch hated it. He _loathed_ it. It was his body, his to do with however he wanted, and every so often that monkey would just hijack him and take him for a spin. Mojo's robot and Him's puppet all in one. Have you ever felt like your arm was burning off? Have you ever looked down at that arm and realized it wasn't linked to your brain anymore and it was just doing whatever some psycho wanted? Have you ever felt that all over, all at once? Butch had.

Well not anymore. He wasn't going to let that happen, not ever again. Who were they to weasel their way into Butch's head and mess with him like that. Well it was only Him's DNA, so Butch couldn't be sure that Him was involved, but it drove him mad all the same. It was his body and nobody else's. If Mojo thought he could just tear him apart from the inside out and build the perfect robot under his skin, then he had another thing coming.

Butch's head jerked back as the robot stopped, banging against the metal wall behind him. He rubbed his head, wincing as he did.

"Alright, boys!" Mojo called. The boys watched with little interest as he fell in through a hole in the ceiling. He landed clumsily and came to rest on his stomach, his arms and legs sprawled out. He quickly stood up, brushing himself off. "Now! First off... where have you three been?" he whined.

* * *

><p>This caught their attention. Brick raised his eyebrows in surprise; Mojo sounded just like an overprotective mother worried about her baby running off.<p>

Butch shrugged. "We just did what you told us to do. We went off to find the Powerpuff Girls."

Mojo threw his arms up in the air. "Yes, but why didn't you come home last night, as to say what is the reason you did not return to my laboratory after said day had ended?"

Brick glanced over to his brothers who stared back at him with an equal amount of concern. After a moment, the same look of depression came back to grace Brick's features as he turned to Mojo, but before he could speak Mojo continued his questions. "And what happened to you! You look awful! Butch, what happened to your arm and why is Boomer covered in dirt! You guys are all covered in bruises! And Brick, why do you have a Lucky Captain Rabbit King bandage on your face?"

Butch and Boomer turned back to Brick with looks of amusement as Brick's eyebrows curved down in confusion. He reached up and pulled off the bandage, turning it around in his hand to see a picture of a huge pink, mustached bunny with a giant purple hat, blushing slightly.

Well, it's not like he'd ever gotten a chance to see it before.

Then he glanced over at Butch and Boomer to see the Mojo was right. Butch's arm hadn't quite finished healing yet from the day before, but it shouldn't be much longer till he could remove the wrapping. And both of them _were_ pretty beat up...

Brick smiled slyly, "Well...we got in a fight with the Powerpuff Girls, and..."

Mojo's eyes lit up, a smile forming on his face and he clapped his hands together in anticipation. "Yes? Yes?"

Brick's grin widened as he pretended to hang his head in defeat, hiding his laughter. "We lost."

"WHAT!"

Brick regretted not being able to see Mojo's expression, but from all the sound effects he imagined it was priceless. He glanced sideways to see his brothers beaming back at him.

Butch brought his good hand up and scratched the back of his head awkwardly, a huge grin on his face. "Yep, they beat us good!"

Boomer laughed too. "Yeah, we didn't wake up till this morning. Guess we were out cold all night."

"THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!" Mojo shrieked, stomping up and down the robot's hollow, waving his hands frantically. "How could the Powerpuff Girls have defeated you! You are _my_ creation, as to say you are better than them! You are the ultimate super-powered beings in all of Townsville! Your strength is far superior to that of the Powerpuff Girls! It should have been a cinch, a walk in the park! A breeze! A snap! A CAKE WALK!"

Brick, Boomer, and Butch each smiled wryly to one another as Mojo continued his rant. Brick glanced down at the bandage again, quickly shoving it into his pocket. Hopefully Mojo would remain preoccupied long enough to forget about asking where it came from.

"No! I cannot have this! I, Mojo Jojo, shale improve you! I shall make you stronger, faster, and even greater than you are now! So that you can finally defeat the Powerpuff Girls!"

Both Butch and Boomer ceased laughing. "A-and how are you going to do that?" Boomer muttered.

Mojo gestured with his hands for the boys to get up. "Come! I will show you!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Come!<strong>__ I will show you! Come! __**I **will__ show you! Come! I will show __**you!**__ Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah._

Butch trailed behind Boomer, who trailed behind Brick, who trailed behind Mojo. Hurray for trailing! Trailing, trailing, trailing! Whoop-de-freak'en-do!

He was not exactly happy to be "home", to say the least.

"Are you sure about this?" Boomer whispered, not wanting Mojo to hear. Butch looked up eagerly too, thinking the same question with a few extra choice words to add of his own.

Brick just shrugged, speaking in a hushed tone that anybody without super hearing couldn't even hope to pick up on, "I don't know... let's just see what he wants. And don't let on about anything, got it?"

Butch nodded, lifting themselves into the air after them as Mojo stepped up the volcano's staircase, babbling jibber-gabber. Okay, while flying was for sissies, Butch did admit that it came in handy every now and again.

Butch briefly considered pushing Mojo off the volcano, but he reconsidered when he realized Mojo would probably be able to electrocute him first.

Mojo's mumbling continued as he opened the door and they continued to follow him inside. Butch made sure to analyze every hallway they went down once he started to realize there were lots of turns and they were going deeper into the kook's lab than usual. If they needed to bolt, he didn't want to be the one stuck in a monkey maze. That was Boomer's job. Then again, there was always the busting out through the ceiling method, which he personally enjoyed.

Eventually he followed his brother's into this new room they'd never been in before; not that they'd gotten a full tour before or anything. It had a bunch of funky looking junk; blasters, robots... a giant fire hydrant?

Mojo walked over to one of the nearest control panels, motioning for the Rowdyruffs to enter, "This way boys. Just stand right here," he explained, gesturing in front of him.

Butch started blankly at the giant "x" on the floor directly beneath Mojo's super atomic laser thingy, "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

Mojo just looked back at them in surprise. "What?"

"Just how dumb do you think we are!" Brick exclaimed.

"Would you prefer I zap you without the laser?" Mojo questioned, holding up one of his countless shock button copies.

Brick glared back at the monkey defiantly before stepping to the front of the laser. What was he doing?

"Brick?" Boomer muttered.

Brick turned to Mojo once in place, "Well?"

Mojo glanced back at Butch and Boomer, using the remote to point at them, then where Brick stood. "You too."

Butch glowered at the stupid, stupid monkey before stomping off to join Brick with Boomer on his heels.

"Is it gonna hurt?" Boomer asked.

Mojo played around at the switches and dials behind the device as he answered. "It shouldn't."

So yes, yes it would hurt.

Butch watched as the lights surrounding the laser began to glow in rings around the tip, starting father back and nearing the center as an electric hum filled the room.

And then Mojo started up the laser and these were the first words that ran through Butch's head:

_Mother $%*!& Son of a #&*%! S%* S#*$ S*! F*% S#*$ I'M GONNA KILL THAT FREAKING MONKEY! CR#! CR&! CR*!_

In no particular order.

Then it stopped.

It felt like his brain had been deep fried and he was dripping oil out his ears. He fell to his knees, swaying. He could taste puke in the back of his throat and quickly covered his mouth.

"Well?" Mojo called.

"YOU DO REALIZE THAT HURT!" Butch shouted.

"But do you feel any different?" Mojo pressed. Stupid, stupid, son of a…

"I can't feel anything," Brick moaned as he rolled over onto his side.

"Well," Mojo shrugged, "I guess we'll just have to try again."

All three boys' head shot up at once, "WHAT!"

* * *

><p>"Buttercup, we can't just leave them," Blossom argued for the umpteenth time.<p>

"Of course we can!"

"We told them we'd help-"

"So we lied! Like that's never happened before."

"They need us Buttercup!"

"I don't' give a damn if they need me or not! Let them hang out at Mojo's all they want! You said you saw them leave, you saw for yourself! I told you we couldn't trust them! I told you it was all just a hoax, but no you wouldn't listen to me!"

They were having a private Powerpuff meeting, which seemed to become an even more common occurrence as of recently. They were sitting on their twin beds that they had pushed together to form one large bed a long time ago. And once again, Blossom just couldn't accept that she had messed up.

"Buttercup, I know it looked bad, but that wasn't their-"

"They attacked us Blossom! I don't care who they are, if they punch me I'm punching them back!"

"Buttercup, they came to us for help! It's our job to help them!"

"They're criminals!" she snarled, "What's wrong with you! Yesterday you said we were going to bring them here and just act like jerks and they'd crack and leave. Well that didn't happen, but now that they're finally out of our hair you wanna bring them back!"

"They're not out of our hair Buttercup! If we leave them with Mojo there's no telling what he could do-"

"I don't care what he does to them!"

"What he could do _with_ them! He could send them after us at any time! They're just as strong as us and as you've seen they can easily take us down."

"Then we'll just beat the crud out of them the next time we see them!"

"Buttercup, we're helping them."

"No way! They were plotting to kill us all along! I'm not going to help you bring them back here!"

"Then explain to me why we're still alive."

Buttercup just stared back at Blossom before huffing out a humorless laugh, "Your going soft. I can't believe it."

"I trust them Buttercup."

"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one!"

"I'm your leader, which means you have to follow my orders!"

"I aint gotta do nothing!"

"Yes you do!"

"No I don't! We'll vote like always."

"Fine," Blossom nodded. "I vote we help them."

"Fine," Buttercup hissed, "I vote we don't."

Up until now Buttercup had practically forgotten Bubbles was in the room too, hugging her Octi doll and staring out the window. She hadn't said a word.

"Bubbles?" Blossom turned back to her, "Do you vote for helping the boys, or not?"

Buttercup folded her arms together. Bubbles was definitely going to vote help; she always did. Why did she even bring up voting?

But then Bubbles shook her head, "Not. Not help."

"Hah! I win!" Buttercup shouted, pointing at Blossom who was still shocked. "Let those guys figure things out for themselves."

* * *

><p>So yeah, that was how Butch, Brick, and Boomer spent the rest of their day; various injections, probes, shocks, zaps, lasers, and such. And yes, Butch did puke. Three times actually. That was at least one more than Brick and he'd lost count with Boomer. How did that work anyway? Shouldn't his stomach have been empty by then, 'cause it sure felt like it was.<p>

Butch watched Brick fall to his knees after the latest zapping. For some reason there were some experiments that Mojo only gave Brick and not his brothers, and it looked like he was reaching his limits. Boomer had been knocked out from the experiment before that. What was the last one anyway? Another needle maybe? Butch couldn't even remember anymore.

He shook his head and staggered to his feet, just barely recovering from the last electrocution, "That's it! I've had enough of this!"

"What are you talking about?" Mojo asked in confusion, hopping down from behind his last firing device.

"WAKE UP, YA STUPID MONKEY!" he yelled. "Boomer isn't even awake anymore!"

He marched up to Butch, glaring at him at eye level since Butch was too exhausted to stand up straight. "Do you want to get shocked again?" he threatened, waving that damn remote in front of his face.

"Go ahead!" Butch offered, spreading his arms out, "It's better than another one of your steroid lasers! Would you like me to push the button for you?" He felt like crap from all the junk that monkey had put them through. So he electrocuted him? Big deal. Like he hadn't done that about 6 times already.

Mojo's eyes squinted together as his lower lip began to jut out into a pout, "Fine! We shall be done for today."

Mojo marched back to the machine he had been working at last, shutting down the power strip and hopping off the platform and out the door, "Come! I shall escort you to your capsules."

"Butch," Brick practically choked, "Could you give me a hand with Boomer?"

"Sure," Butch walked up to Brick, almost stumbling again, and stood on the opposite side of Boomer, slinging his arm around his shoulder so that Brick and Butch supported most of his weight.

"Boomer?" Brick asked again, still very much exhausted. He shook his shoulder lightly, "Come on, Boomer... time to wake up."

"Yeah, we're going to bed. Don't want to sleep through that," Butch joked as Boomer's eyes began to twitch and he slapped his face lightly a few times.

"Well, let's go follow Mojo," Brick muttered. "There's nothing else we can do like this."

Butch nodded solemnly. He was shaking just trying to hold Boomer up; there was no way they'd make it out of Mojo's mad house without him noticing. In the state they were in, that monkey might've even been able to stop them by himself.

Boomer began to walk slightly on the way down the hall, glancing up at Butch. "It's... okay Butch. I'll be fine with just Brick," he mumbled, his voice scratchy. Butch looked at him skeptically for a second, then to Brick who looked like he was about to keel over.

"Nah, I got ya," Butch smiled. What, did he really look too worn out to take half of Boomer's weight? That was just pathetic…

Brick and Butch passed Mojo, who was standing next to the control panel, and helped Boomer over to his capsule before walking into their own. Butch sneered to himself; they were acting like whipped dogs.

Mojo closed the glass lids with the control panel before exiting without a word. As soon as he left Brick slumped against the wall of his capsule and fell to the floor. Butch did the same

"Hey Brick?" Butch asked. He wanted to talk about what the new plan would be, what they would do about Mojo tomorrow.

"Just go to sleep, Butch," he muttered back. "We'll figure out something tomorrow."

Butch folded his arms together and tried to get into a comfortable position. Those dang capsules were so small. He missed sleeping on the floor at the Powerpuffs' house.

* * *

><p><em>Bubbles stumbled forward, unsure of her surroundings when all she could see in every direction was fog. She turned around again, but was only greeted by the same haze as before.<em>

_But then she fell to her knees after being struck in the center of her back, going tense from the surprise. She quickly stood with the aid of her power of flight, whirling around to get a better view of her attacker._

_He stood proudly before her, chuckling lightly. His hands radiated with sapphire flares, similar to the blue flames that had replaced his eyes. He was grinning widely as he glared down at her, his face filled with pleasure._

_Bubbles' lip trembled and she thought she might scream. She instantly shot off in the opposite direction. She had to get away. She had to._

"_B-B-Bubbles?"_

_Bubbles' eyes widened in shock and she spun around in a desperate attempt to locate her opponent, and failing miserably. She was sure that had been Boomer._

_She turned again, and he was instantly there. She skidded to a clumsy halt and fell on her back as her feet slipped out from under her. She stared wide eyed at Boomer as he approached, completely petrified._

_But then she noticed his smirk was gone. His eyes were dimming and continued to do so until they were as calm as anyone else's._

_Bubbles smiled at this, but then her smile faded as he continued to approach and she began to notice more and more details about his appearance. His face was stained with blood, mostly on his right cheek and lip with a large purple bruise under his eye. His arms dangled limply in front of him as he swayed with each step. He'd been hanging his head, but when he lifted his eyes to hers he was as white as a sheet._

"_Bub-bles…" he mumbled, his eyes rolling back into his head, "I'm sorry."_

_And with that he collapsed in front of her._

"_Boomer!"_

Bubbles jolted up in her bed, dripping sweat. She clung to her blanket as she trembled, her eyes shooting back and forth. She was in her room, home with her sisters. She gasped a few more times before sliding the covers off her legs and rapping her arms around her knees, not ready to go back to sleep.

She was sure that had been Boomer dreaming again, just like last night. Everything had been the same. It had to have been.

It was all her fault. Why had she voted no?

Bubbles rocked back and forth ever so slightly, staring out the window. Boomer… she just didn't know what to think. He helped her with the dinosaur attack and all, but ever since then… well, it just seemed like the only times she'd spent with him he wasn't feeling his best, to say the least. He'd nearly gone after her again after the dinosaur attack, and then her dreams…

She hugged her legs tighter when she noticed her shivering. Was she really afraid of him now? Of Boomer?

If they really had shared dreams again, what did that mean was happening to Boomer? Did that mean he was hurt?

Bubbles bit her lip; her sisters may not have decided if they thought the boys were good or not yet, but she had. She knew Boomer was good. She'd just been too busy acting like a baby to realize she needed to get over her fears and help him.

She was a Powerpuff, a hero. Scared or not, that should have been reason enough.

She started to nudge Blossom awake; she'd changed her vote.

* * *

><p>Brick awoke from his dream, startled. His breathing had sped up slightly, but he just didn't have the energy for a more appropriate reaction. His heart smoldered as though it might burn a hole though his shirt and he slowly lifted his hand with the little strength he still possessed, dropping it on his chest and gripping his sweater. He stared at the glass door in front of him with half interest, his eye just barely open. Despite how drained he felt, it didn't seem as though he would be falling asleep again anytime soon.<p>

He bit the inside of his lip lightly as he let his mind sink back into the hazy clouds that were turning his brain to mush, drowning himself in the stress that had built up over the course of the last few days.

He shut his eyes; letting his mind wander. What the Powerpuffs must think of him and his brothers... but he just shut his eyes tighter. The girls obviously weren't going to help them, so it shouldn't matter anymore what the girls' impression of them was. They blew it, and now they were back where they started, caged in capsules in Mojo's lab with a few additional scars, mental and physical, and a lot less vigor; muzzled and beaten like dogs.

Thinking about the girls only caused his pain to swell. He knew he shouldn't, but he _would_ miss them, and there was nothing anyone could do about that.

Somehow, Brick managed to pick up on a soft sound from outside his capsule. He opened his eyes slightly, glancing up to see a blur of pink behind the glass door in front of him and his heart stopped. His eyes moved up higher to see a certain redheaded Powerpuff tapping his cage lightly while her other hand was pressed against the lid. The rhythm of her knocking ceased when he met her eyes. Her face lighting up but Brick could only stare back, stunned, his jaw falling open slightly. She looked away for a moment, turning away while her hand remained on the glass. Then the lid began to rise and slide away.

Brick's eyes widened is surprise, "...Blossom? What are you- oof!"

Blossom fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck, knocking the wind out of him momentarily, "I'm sorry Brick. This is all my fault."

Genuinely shocked, he didn't answer right away. He smirked after a moment. "You're sorry? …wait, you're not allowed to be sorry."

Blossom quickly released her grip and looked back at him, wide eyed and concerned. She didn't speak for a moment, just staring. It was beginning to make him uncomfortable. "Blossom?"

"I can't hear it," she muttered, grabbing his hand that was still clinging to his shirt. He released his grip so she could pull it away, turning his wrist over. "Your watch!"

Brick pulled his arm back slowly, moving his wrist into his line of sight. The lights on the watch face were gone, the dials off. It must have short-circuited when Mojo was doing his experiments. He just lowered his arm limply back to the ground, his humorless grin returning. "Guess you're lucky I'm worn out."

Blossom quickly bounced to her feet and took a few steps back, worry evident in her expression. Brick looked up at her with cloudy eyes. "No handicaps, remember? And it really doesn't matter at this point. I can't feel anything anyway..."

She seemed to calm slightly at his statement, her head tilting slightly. "Can't feel any...what happened?"

Brick was about to answer, but then he heard a light patting on his left. Blossom turned to the direction the sound was coming from. "Careful, Bubbles. Brick's watch is broken, so Boomer's might be too."

Brick squinted, attempting to use it x-ray vision to see Bubbles on the other side of the capsule wall, but all he saw was a flicker as her silhouette came into view before the container's side reappeared. He turned back to Blossom, "You...you might have more trouble with Boomer. He fainted near the end..."

Blossom turned her attention back to Brick, confusion in her eyes. "End? End of what?"

Brick pressed against the floor with his hands as he attempted to reposition himself, but his arms suddenly started to throb. He groaned and fell back to his spot on the ground. "Mojo...uh, he tested out some new experiments on us..."

"Humph, experiments..."

Brick shut his eyes for a moment as Blossom turned to Butch's cage. He didn't want to make an effort to use his x-ray vision again when he knew it wouldn't work; all it would give him was a headache.

"More like torture devices, if you ask me..." Butch put in.

Brick glanced up at Blossom to see her mouth open slightly as though she was about to ask him to clarify, but Buttercup flew in just then, speaking before her, "You guys can tell us all about it once we're back home."

Brick's eyebrows furrowed. "You're gonna take us back?"

Both Blossom and Buttercup turned to him. He watched as a grin appeared on his counterpart's face. "What? You think we're gonna pass up the opportunity to foil Mojo's newest plan?" she teased.

"Yeah, this is our chance to get rid of our toughest enemy yet!" Buttercup joked. He still couldn't see Bubbles, but he heard her soft laughter on the other side of the container. Brick smiled up at them, overjoyed that they'd come to help him and his brothers.

Blossom leaned over and held out her hand. "So, you coming or what?"

Brick's smile faded as he stared at Blossom's hand, unsure if he'd be able to stand. Her expression changed as well, surprised and confused that he hadn't stood up yet, "Brick?"

He struggled for a moment, giving up when he was unable to rise. "...yeah. I don't think I can get up..."

Blossom straightened up and folded her arms together, her lower lip jutting out slightly into a pout as she thought. "Why? Did you break something?"

"No. I... I just don't have any energy..." he mumbled.

She smiled at that, "Okay." She reached down and grabbed both of Brick's arms, pulling him up into the air, just a few inches off the ground. Then she slung his arms over her shoulders. "Hold on."

"Uh...okay." He did as he was told, grabbing onto his shirt sleeves so his arms wrapped securely around her neck. Then she reached down and grabbed his legs, one in each hand, like a little kid getting a piggy-back ride. He blushed slightly with embarrassment; it felt very degrading to need to be carried.

She turned back to her sisters. "Get Butch and Boomer!" she said urgently, "Mojo could show up at anytime!"

Buttercup nodded and stepped over to Butch, who protested the entire time with muffled threats of "Don't you dare!" and "What do you think you're doing?". Bubbles came into view after a moment, cradling a still sleeping Boomer like a baby, one arm behind his shoulders and another under his knees. Buttercup came into view after her, Butch slung over her shoulder. Brick couldn't see Butch's face, but he assumed he was peeved. He pressed his lips together; there were more humiliating ways to be carried.

Blossom nodded when she saw that her sisters were ready. "Alright, let's go, girls!"

* * *

><p>Buttercup readjusted her grip on Butch and the three, or now six, of them shot out the window. She still wasn't too happy about this, but Blossom was right about one thing at least; now they wouldn't have to worry about Mojo reeking havoc with them all the time. But she was still planning on keeping a close eye on the Rowdyruffs.<p>

"Blossom, maybe we should stop for a minute. Brick doesn't look so good..."

Buttercup looked up to see Bubbles eyeing Brick who was looking a little green.

"Brick?" Blossom slowed slightly.

"Just for a minute?" he asked. Buttercup rolled her eyes. Great, now they had to stop.

"Sure," Blossom said before landing on a nearby street. She set Brick down quickly, "Brick? What's wrong? You look a little pale..."

He slumped against the building, "Just...dizzy." Buttercup wasn't sure about this.

"Why don't you guys head home? I'll catch up," Blossom offered, floating over to them and leaving Brick back by the wall.

Buttercup's voice was barely a whisper. "But what if he pulls something?"

Blossom smiled and shook her head, "Then I can deal with it."

"Are you sure?"

Blossom nodded, "Yeah, it's fine. We'll be back before you know it."

Normally there was no way Buttercup would leave Blossom with someone like Brick, but if she really thought everything was okay then she'd be fine. She was the leader after all. And on the plus side, if Brick did pull something while they were gone Buttercup would be eligible for gloating rights and "I told you so"s later. Besides, Buttercup really just wanted to dump Butch off somewhere; she was tired of carrying him.

So her and Bubbles took off without Blossom. Maybe everything _would_ be okay…

* * *

><p>"H-hey, Blossom..."<p>

Blossom glanced back over her shoulder and Brick started speaking again, "Thanks."

"It was nothing," she replied meekly. "Mojo wouldn't have taken you back if I'd trusted you enough to let you stay with the Professor."

Brick's eyebrows creased. He really wasn't looking too great just then; pale, weak, banged up. For whatever reason he'd decided to remove the bandage that had been on his cheek, and his simple cut that should've healed instantaneously had tripled in size.

"Wait, you trust me now?" he asked in confusion.

Blossom glanced sideways at the ground. "I should have trusted you before..."

"Why?" he blurted out, surprising her momentarily. "You were afraid to trust me when it was just a dream. What would make you want to trust me after we really did attacked you?"

Blossom's shoulders slumped and she smiled slightly. "That wasn't your fault… Mojo-"

"If I remember correctly, Mojo wasn't the one trying to beat you to a pulp," but then he shrugged, "Not that I really remember much of it."

Blossom could almost feel her head tilt ever so slightly, "You don't remember?"

He shook his head, "After you guys stole his remote, no. I thought I just passed out or something, which is new..."

"But then again, wasn't that the first time he used the black button?"

Brick nodded, "Yeah, must've just been a side effect or some-"

Before he could finish, Brick grabbed his stomach and clasped a hand over his mouth, shutting his eyes tightly.

"Brick?" Blossom asked, rushing over to him, "Brick, what's wrong?"

He didn't answer; he just shook his head and his cheeks puffed out a little. He looked like he was going to be sick. But then he swallowed, shivered a little, and let himself fall back against the wall behind him.

Blossom squatted down in front of him, "Brick, exactly what did Mojo do to you?"

He opened his mouth ever so slightly. "Needles, lasers, uh… an x ray or something. More needles. I don't know how many times he zapped us with something." He was slurring his words a little.

"I think it would be best if I tried to figure out what's wrong with you before we start flying again, which means I'm going to have to check for some other symptoms, if that alright with you?"

He responded with an empty smirk and opened his eyes halfway, "I really look that bad, huh?"

She nodded.

He shut his eyes again, his smile fading, "Then go ahead."

So Blossom began her examination. Nausea could be a symptom of a number of things, the most likely being fatigue, but she had no knowledge of what _exactly _Mojo had done to them so she couldn't be sure. Vomiting was also related to head injuries such as concussions, but then again it was also related to most everything. She hoped Brick hadn't hit his head or anything; it would've been bad to have moved him at all if he really did have a concussion.

"Are you still dizzy at all?" Blossom asked as she grabbed one of his hands and felt for a pulse.

"It's nothing," he mumbled.

"Brick, I am trying to diagnose _exactly_ what's wrong with you and I can't do that if you don't tell me what you're feeling," she said sternly. "Now, do you feel dizzy?"

"…A little," he said. "Not as bad as when we were flying."

"Thank you," Blossom started taking his pulse, calculating the beats per minute. It was slower than it should be.

"Did you vomit at all after or during the experiments?" she asked, pressing her hand to his forehead.

"What are you, my mom?"

"Just answer."

"…Twice. Both during the latter half."

"Good," Blossom said, pushing his cheek down to check his eye.

"Puking is good?" he asked sarcastically as she switched to his other eye. They brightened infinitesimally, which, for once, she took as a good sign. At least that was normal for him.

"Telling me is good. Puking not so much."

His eyes were dilated, but it was dark so that was to be expected. And he felt a little warm, but that could've easily been a side effect from the experiments rather than a sign of sickness, the sickness being the side effect was what she was looking for. She wasn't really sure what to do since half of her tests could possibly be giving her inaccurate results and she didn't know what to go off of anymore. And all of this was starting to give _her_ a headache.

Yet she continued anyway, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"I'm dying, not blind."

"Brick."

"Two. Two fingers."

"Okay," she said, lowering her hand, "Do you feel overheated?" Maybe it was just heat exhaustion; that covered a few similar signs, and it would explain the slight rise in body temperature.

"Not really."

Okay, maybe not.

"Dehydrated? Tired?"

"A little thirsty, and beyond tired."

"And you have no energy?"

"None."

Maybe it was just fatigue. "Does anything hurt?"

"Head and stomach."

"A lot or a little," she asked. "Be honest."

"Head hurts a lot, stomach not as much," he answered.

"Did you hit your head at all?"

He just stared at her with a look of disinterest, "No…"

Blossom sighed, "Well, you could be suffering from heat exhaustion, fatigue, or stress. You-"

"Stress sounds right to me," he interrupted.

Blossom continued anyway, "You could have a migraine or a minor concussion. Or you body could just be trying to heal itself from the experiments and Mojo just messed up your immune system."

Brick raised an eyebrow, "Is that all?"

"Okay, maybe not that last one, but something's wrong. With your super healing you should've started the healing process a while ago, which would've relieved you of some of these symptoms."

"So you think he gave me brain damage?"

Blossom's eyebrows furrowed, "I think what?"

"You said something about a concussion."

"It's just a possibility, but I really doubt it since you didn't hit your head or anything. All of those were just possibilities. There's also the chance that all of these symptoms are only results of Mojo's experiments and aren't linked with any other serious side effects."

Brick sighed, holding his forehead. "Head still hurts?" Blossom asked.

"What I wouldn't give for a bottle of pain killers right now," he groaned.

"I doubt that would help you very much. That medicine's only meant for people with average immune systems."

He dropped his hand away from his face and his eyebrows knitted together. He seemed to be studying her, confused about something…

And it was weirding her out, "Is everything okay?"

He didn't answer at first, still staring at her. "Could you list all of that stuff again? The stuff that could be wrong with me?"

"Um, sure?" Blossom raised an eyebrow. He was staring intently at her and it made her feel uncomfortable. "Any particular reason?"

"I have an idea," he said, raising his fist to his mouth with his thumb supporting his cheek, "I just want to see if it works. It probably won't though."

"What is it?"

He smirked, "You'll see."

Blossom rolled her eyes, "Okay, well heat exhaustion would've been a possible explanation because it is very common for some people to be more susceptible to high temperatures than others, though how susceptible super humans are to it I'm not completely sure, but I thought Mojo's lasers might've caused an internal rise in temperature, but you said you weren't overheated. And before that I jumped to the conclusion that you might've had a concussion, which would be very bad, but you don't appear to…"

She hadn't looked away while she explained her theories again, eager to figure out what Brick's big idea was, but she found herself subconsciously come to a pause. She'd checked his eyes before and they'd been perfectly fine, but now they were so bright it almost hurt her eyes to look at him.

"Um, Brick? Are you sure you're okay?"

His eyebrows furrowed, "When did I say I was okay? I'm dying of some concussion or whatever it is."

"No, not that. I mean, well… your eyes are getting pretty bright."

The crease between his eyes deepened, "They are?"

Blossom raised an eyebrow, "What, you didn't notice?"

"I did a little, but how bad is it?"

"Worse than normal. How could you not notice?"

"It just doesn't hurt as much," he moved one of his hands in front of his face, probably judging the light on his hand. "I didn't know they were that bright."

"Well it looks like it hurts a lot. What were you trying to do?"

He dropped his hand and his eyes started to dim. "I thought if I could get Him's DNA to kick in, maybe it would get my blood pumping again."

"And you thought that would start up your super healing and help you get some energy back?" He nodded.

Blossom reached for his wrist and felt for his pulse. It was faster, just a little more than normal.

Blossom raised an eyebrow, "So I'm your walking, talking Advil now?"

He smirked, "Then you should come with a warning label: may cause glowing in the eyes."

"So how're you feeling then?"

"Kinda the same. My headaches gone and moving is a little easier, but that's about it. So better I guess."

"So you ready to go then?"

"Sure," he said just before Blossom tossed him onto her back again.

"So, are we even now?" she asked.

"Even?"

"You carried me home after the dinosaur fight, I'm carrying you home from Mojo's."

He chuckled, "Yeah, I guess we're even then."

"Alright," she said, taking off into the sky. Time to go home. Her sisters must be furious with her for taking so long.


	8. Changes

**Thank you everyone who's been reading and reviewing. Only one more chapter for those of you who've read the original draft until we get some new stuff. As always, sorry for the wait and I hope you like it! ^^**

* * *

><p>The Professor was there when Bubbles and Buttercup arrived. He'd been worried sick when he came up from the lab to check on them earlier only to find they were gone. Bubbles felt incredibly guilty, but the Professor understood as soon as he saw the boys, giving them hugs and going on and on about how sorry he was and how everything was going to be okay. The Professor was very good at that sort of thing.<p>

Blossom and Brick made it back a little later, much to Buttercup's surprise. Bubbles knew Buttercup really didn't like Brick for some reason, which Bubbles still didn't understand.

After exchanging more hugs the group set to work on their new course of action, which they were still in the process of working on after an hour or so, and the only real progress they made was moving from the foyer to the family room.

"Can't we have anything else to eat other than these cardboard crackers?" Butch asked, turning another saltine cracker over a few times before popping it in his mouth. He was sitting on the floor, leaning against the table and looking like he might pass out any second. "I'm starving."

"Sorry Butch," Blossom placed another tray full of the crackers on the sofa tablet in front of the couch. "You guys probably won't be able to keep anything down other than these." Butch groaned, reaching for another.

"I'm sorry guys, we'll take care of you in a minute, but there's not much we can do. You may have been weakened by Mojo's experiments but you're bodies won't accept regular medicine easily, so all we can do is bandage you up again and hope antiseptic works at least." the Professor explained, pacing up and down the kitchen, "What types of experiments did you say Mojo used on you again?"

Everyone turned to Brick who was laying on half of the couch with his feet dangling off the arm rest, holding his stomach. Apparently he'd received more tests than Butch and Boomer had so whenever the Professor asked about tests Brick was expected to answer.

"I think 3 shots. I got an extra one. We each got one around the inside of our elbows, and then the others were in the shoulder. He used a bunch of different lasers and junk, but those all seemed basically the same. An x-ray, maybe it was two… and I think that was it."

"But why would Mojo give you extra tests? And what was he trying to achieve?" the Professor muttered to himself.

Bubbles turned to Boomer when he spoke; they were both sitting on the floor and leaning against the couch. "He said he was trying to make us stronger. He was mad when we told him we lost to you." Bubbles' eyes darted to the floor when he looked in her direction.

"Nice going by the way," Butch commented as he grabbed another handful of crackers.

Brick let his hand fall limply over the side of the couch next to Bubbles, "Oh shut up. Like you could think of anything better."

"But why did you say that?" Buttercup raised an eyebrow and stared down at Brick. She was sharing the couch with him, tailor sitting on her half. "You guys never lost to us."

"Well he wanted to know why we looked so beat up. What would you have said?" Butch asked, grabbing their attention, "I mean, it's not like we could just waltz up to him and say, 'Hi Mojo, how ya doing? We were just hanging out with the Powerpuffs the last couple of days plotting to smash all those damn remotes of yours and run away. So, how was grocery shopping? Did you buy any frozen pizzas?'"

"You wanted to keep it a secret," the Professor concluded. "Which is good, because that's going to be more important now than ever."

"Why?" Bubbles asked.

"Yes…" the Professor muttered, holding his chin. "We cannot let Mojo find out that the boys will be staying here."

"But _why_?" Butch asked indifferently. "I mean, duh, we don't want him to know what we're up to, but why is it even more important now?"

"Of course!" Bubbles was alarmed when Brick arm was quickly vanished and he sat up. "But Professor, you don't think…"

Bubbles looked up to see the Professor nod. "I looked at the remote you boys brought me and it is indeed capable of reaching far distances. It works just like a cell phone; through a satellite dish. It can reach almost anywhere."

"And if Mojo knew you were here, with us," Blossom said as she walked back into the room with the last box of crackers, "He could press the black button at any time."

Bubbles eyes quickly darted to Boomer, who was already looking to her, before looking back to the floor. Any time; Mojo could make them all suffer at the press of a button at _any _time_._

Bubbles looked frantically to the others, but Butch was just staring at the table, and Buttercup and Brick hadn't looked away from Blossom.

"Isn't that right Professor?" Blossom asked.

The Professor nodded, "That's right. Apparently the black button has the power to override the watches I gave you, but I'm still not sure exactly how it works…"

"Mojo said something about increasing the flow of Him's DNA," Brick offered. "But is that possible?"

"No," the Professor shook his head, "I don't think that's how it works, or at the very least I don't think Mojo informed you correction. If it had increased the concentration of Him's DNA in your systems, it would've had to come from an outside source. And if the concentration of Him's DNA reached over 50% of your genetic makeup, then Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup wouldn't be here right now."

Bubbles shivered, and for a second she thought Boomer had too.

"No, that's not what he did. He could've however sped up the flow, increased the speed."

"What would that do?" Brick asked.

"Well, just like blood pumping faster, it speeds up your heart rate, gives you more energy, makes you more aware, like an adrenaline rush. It's possible that Him's DNA acts in a similar manner so that you become more powerful when the flow speeds up. But to trigger a reaction like that you would need access to the amygdala in order to stimulate the adrenal glands and cause an adrenaline rush, but…"

"Yes Professor?" Blossom encouraged when he stopped abruptly. Bubbles hadn't understood much of that sentence, but it wasn't sounding good.

The Professor's face nearly drained of all color, "There would need to be a receptor in the brain. To trigger the appropriate reaction, Mojo would've needed to implant some type of device in their heads."

The volume level in the room dropped so quickly Bubbles could almost hear herself blink.

"So…" Buttercup broke the silence. "What does that mean?"

The Professor sighed, grabbing his chin again and continuing his pacing. "It means removing the device will be much more difficult that I had expected. I had been hoping there might simply be a tracking chip in their arms or something and I could surgically remove it, but brain surgery is beyond me and we can't just go to a hospital about this. Besides, their skulls are nearly as hard as diamonds. It would be impossible."

"So what do we do then?" Butch muttered icily, grinding a few crackers into dust and brushing the crumbs around on the table. "Are you saying we're going to have to just live with this for the rest of our lives? With chips in our heads?"

Bubbles pulled her knees up and rested her head on her arms as the Professor answered Butch's question.

"While the chip might not be removable, there is still the possibility that we can disable them. I'll give the remote you boys brought me another look, see if I can hack into the signal without Mojo realizing it."

"So what are we going to do about Mojo?" Brick asked. "He knows we couldn't have left on our own, somebody had to let us out."

The Professor continued his pacing once again, "I doubt Mojo would jump to the conclusion that the girls would free you. From what he knows, helping the Rowdyruffs should be the _last_ thing you girls are up to. No, I don't think Mojo will suspect what's really going on for some time, not if we keep a low profile. But the matter of how the Rowdyruff Boys managed to escape will become an issue if they are captured again."

The Professor looked over the three Rowdyruffs as he paced. Bubbles watched him as his gaze shifted from Butch, to Brick, to Boomer, to Brick again, and then back to Boomer.

"Boomer, how are you feeling?"

Bubbles turned to Boomer who just stared back at the Professor, seeming at a loss for words. "F-Fine, I guess. Well, not really. But, you know, better?"

"I heard your watches weren't working..." the Professor pressed.

"Oh, right," Boomer said, pulling his sleeve aside and unfastening his watch. Bubbles' eyes widened; he was sitting next to her while his watch wasn't working? He didn't need to do that. She hated to think what he might be going through, but he seemed perfectly fine…

"It may take some time to repair," the Professor added as Boomer handed it to him. "I'll need you're watches too," he said, turning to Brick and Butch who complied easily enough.

"Well, seeing as how your injuries have worsened, it might be a good idea to treat them soon. And you could probably use some rest... we can have your physicals done this afternoon then so I can see if Mojo's experiments had any lasting effects."

* * *

><p>"Butch, come on...get up," Brick slurred as he prodded Butch's stomach with his foot.<p>

Butch groaned and rolled in the other direction, facing away from Brick. Why couldn't Brick just shut up? He wanted to sleep.

Brick kicked his back, "Now Butch... just take a shower."

Butch shut his eyes tighter, squeezing into an even smaller ball as he tried to ignore him.

"BUTCH! GET IN THE FREAKING SHOWER ALREADY!"

Butch flinched, his eyes shooting open. Geez, Buttercup was loud.

"Coming _Mom_!" he yelled back, stumbling as he stood and made his way to the stairs. Stupid Buttercup…

He glanced around the hallways after leaving the lab, waiting for a rabid Buttercup to jump out of nowhere. How was he supposed to know where he was going?

"Yo! Up here stupid."

Butch looked up to see Buttercup floating near the second floor next to the chimney, "You coming or what?"

"Yeah," Butch sneered, "Just get out of the way and I'll jump up there."

Buttercup grinned knowingly and floated aside, "After you?"

Butch scowled and made his way to the next flight of stairs. Hate stairs…

Buttercup glided over to his shoulder, probably just so he could hear her laughing more clearly.

"Buzz off will ya?" Butch sneered as he turned towards the hall.

"I'd love to, believe me I would, but I've been appointed your official escort to the bathroom."

"Lucky me."

"Oh lighten up already," Buttercup patted his head and Butch instantaneously gripped the railing until you could easily make out the dents his fingers left in the metal. His teeth clamped down, catching the side of his cheek, his eyes burning.

"Geez…" Buttercup breathed. "I thought you didn't have y-"

"DON'T DO THAT!" Butch snarled, spit and blood flying from his mouth.

Buttercup only grinned back with a mischievous look Butch was learning to hate, "Oh, looks like somebody's ready for a rematch."

Butch clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palm. Oh the opportunity was tempting, but…

"Forget it. Fighting you is no fun."

Butch stomped down the hall, not needing to turn around to know that Buttercup was following him. He could feel she was there, like a burn in the back of his head.

"What do you mean fighting me is no fun?" she nagged, following him around the corner.

"I mean," Butch turned around, half expecting to punch her right in the face, "You don't even make a good bunching bag! I hate what you do to me, so why don't you just get lost already?"

"You want me to get lost? This is my house! If one of us is gonna leave, then by all means let the door hit you on the way out!"

"You make it sound easy, but it's-"

"I don't see anything stopping you! You guys are already here, at our house, what's stopping you from leaving Townsville completely?"

"Were you sleeping while the Professor was talking? I know I was knocked out for part of it, but even I know those damn remotes can reach us wherever we go! You have that freedom to go wherever you want, but I don't! You have complete control over everything you do, but whenever I'm around you that mutant monkey takes me out for a joy ride! I hate fighting you because even though it's my fist pounding your face in, I'm not the one telling my hand to smash you nose!"

Butch could almost feel the steam coming out his ears. Buttercup looked so stupid, staring at him with her mouth open like that. He was starting to wonder if he punched her in the face if his fist could fit in her mouth or if she'd have to lose a few teeth first to make room. He could always test it.

"Dude… that must suck."

Butch just stared at her for a minute, "Wait… what?"

He watched as her face morphed into a sneer and she rubbed the back of her neck, "Nothing. I guess, well that just sounds like a real pain in the butt. Where's the thrill of a fight if you can't do it yourself?"

"Yeah?" Butch asked as Buttercup passed him and stood next to the bathroom door.

"Yeah," she smirked, "But that doesn't mean you have permission to beat me up or anything."

He grinned, "Don't worry, wasn't asking for it."

* * *

><p>Blossom quickly flew down to the lab to check on Boomer again only to find that he had fallen asleep and Brick had finished his shower.<p>

"Can you find one Bubbles?" Blossom yelled back up the stairs.

"Okay, do we even own a first aid kit?" Bubbles' voice rang through the laboratory.

Brick chuckled, instantly catching Blossom's attention. "Because of all the people in Townsville, you guys, with your super healing, would need one."

Blossom rolled her eyes and spun around, lifting off the ground again and hovering over to some nearby cabinets. "The Professor should have one. What with all his experimenting. And he had wrapped up Butch's arm yesterday too so there has to be one somewhere. Ugh, why didn't I think of that earlier?"

She quickly rummaged through the cabinets, slowly moving from one side of the lab to the other. Her searching began to accelerate as she yanked open drawers only to close them again instantly with dissatisfaction. Eventually she rounded the corner to where the simulator was kept where there were some more drawers. And eventually…

"I found it!"

"Great!" Bubbles called from up the next floor. She flew down to join them, landing abruptly in front of Boomer. "Brick," she scoffed, earning a very surprised and confused look from the redhead, "Your hair is a mess! Didn't you comb it out at all?"

Blossom hadn't noticed before, but his hair really was a rat's nest at the moment. He looked… different, with his hair down and no cap. He was just so naked without it.

Brick's eyebrows puckered as he reached back and ran his fingers through his damp hair, catching lots of tangles and knots as he did. Meanwhile, Bubbles had shot up to their room and returned with brush in hand. She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around so that he was facing the stairs with Boomer behind him.

Bubbles positioned herself behind Brick, grabbing onto his hair. "Don't I get a say in this?" he asked sarcastically.

"No," Bubbles replied cheerfully as she ran the brush through his hair, "No, you don't."

Brick didn't seem too thrilled with this new concept of combing ones hair and began pouting in the direction of the staircase.

Blossom sighed and rolled her eyes, scooting over to sit in front of Brick with the first aid kit. Brick raised his eyebrows in surprise, and then Bubbles pulled particularly hard on his hair again, causing his frown to reappear.

Blossom opened the kit, removing a few bottles along with a roll of gauze wrapping. She closed the box and set it aside, holding a small piece of the gauze in one hand and a bottle in her other, finger on top, and sprayed the contents of the bottle onto the bandage. She inched closer, glancing up at Brick. "This might sting a little."

"Sting?" he began to ask, but before he could form an actual question Blossom pressed the wrapping against his cheek.

"Ack!" Brick flinched away from the bandage, his cut burning.

Blossom pulled her hand away slightly. "I told you it was gonna sting."

"But it hurts," he complained.

She rolled her eyes, dabbing his cut a few more times as he attempted to move back. "Quit being such a baby."

Brick glared at her as she placed the bottle on the floor along with the cloth she had been using. "Your cut must have gotten a lot deeper if it stings that badly," she mused.

Brick's eyebrows creased as he pressed against the inside of his cheek with his tongue, "Yep, it's deeper."

Blossom stuck a new bandage to his cheek. "Just try not to touch it too much," she added.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Brick, I love your hair!" Bubbles squealed, pulling her brush through it once again, "It really _is_ just like Blossom's!" Just like hers?

"Uh, thanks? Do you think you could tie it back?" he asked as he glanced over his shoulder, handing her the ponytail holder that he had been wearing earlier. It was a shame, Blossom thought Brick's hair looked nice down now that it was brushed and all.

"Sure," Bubbles answered cheerfully, grabbing the elastic band from him.

They were silent for a little while, so Blossom decided to go through the first aid kit and see if there was anything else she could give Brick. Pain killers wouldn't do much, as they'd established earlier, and now that he was no longer covered in dirt she could see that the cut on his cheek was the only place that had pierced the skin.

"Hey Blossom?" he asked.

She didn't look up at first, still sifting through the box, "Uh-huh?"

"You remember what I tried to do earlier? When we landed in Townsville?"

Blossom nodded, turning over a bottle of antiseptic to examine the label, "What about it?" Was he referring to when he'd tried to force his immune system to start up so he'd heal faster?

She glanced up to see him biting his lip. "Do you think I could try it again?"

Yes, that was what he was referring to.

She sighed, "Brick, I'm not sure how much it'll do. Like you've said, you tried earlier and it didn't help too much."

"Come on," he smiled, "If it works we might be able to get our powers back quicker. Boomer's still having trouble walking, let alone flying. It could be dangerous for us not to have our powers if something were to happen."

"Well Buttercup seems pretty happy that you guys can barely walk."

He rolled his eyes, "Please? What've we got to lose?"

Blossom shook her head with a smile, surprised at herself for agreeing, "Fine, go ahead."

"Um, could I have your hand?" he asked, reaching his out towards her.

Her eyebrows furrowed, "Why?"

"Just to try and make it work better than the first time. Talking didn't seem to work, so I thought maybe..."

Blossom glanced up at Brick to see he was blushing ever so slightly, then shifted her gaze to Bubbles. Her brushing had slowed and she was watching them with obvious interest.

Blossom took Brick's hand as he'd asked and her eyes met his as she waited for them to shine. If he was actually willing himself to feel the pain it shouldn't take too long to kick in, whether he was fatigued or not.

And she was right, it didn't. Only a few seconds later Brick's hand was shivering. Her eyes darted from his hand to his face again as he stared wide eyed back at her.

"Brick?" she asked, and his grip on her hand tightened. When she looked up his eyes were blazing. "Brick, is it working? Are you okay?"

His hold tightened to the point where it almost hurt, but he didn't answer. His trembling was starting to make her arm shake too. And as always, his eyes were shining.

"Brick?" Bubbles's asked warily.

Brick shut his eyes tightly, yanking his hand away. He was still shaking, but at least he seemed to be calming a little. Blossom hadn't noticed him panting before, or dripping in sweat.

"Brick?" Blossom asked again. His eyes shot open and he leaned away from her ever so slightly.

"I-I'm fine," he finally answered, his teeth chattering, "It's fine."

"You don't look fine," she pressed. He wasn't usually this shook up about being around her, especially now that he was lacking some powers. "What's wrong?"

A troubled grin spread across his face as he huffed out a laugh, shaking his head. "It's nothing, really."

Did he honestly think she was going to believe that?

"Alright, Brick," Bubbles said. "Your ponytail's done. But you really should wear your hair down, it's so pretty!"

He nodded as she floated past him, "Thanks Bubbles."

Bubbles turned and waved lightly with a grin before drifting up the stairs and through the doorway.

Blossom rose from her seat as well, hovering slightly as she turned to follow her, "So… you're not going to tell me what happened?"

She heard Brick sigh behind her, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Blossom squeezed her thumbs between her fingers, "Of course you don't."

"Maybe I'm just out of practice."

Blossom glanced back over her shoulder, shocked by Brick's nonchalant statement, but she hadn't been expecting the miserable look he gave her, complete with hollow eyes and grimace.

At first she did nothing, but after a moment she nodded, and flew off to bed. So what if he didn't want to tell her what was wrong with him. What did she care?

* * *

><p>A thin line of light cut through the slit of the laboratory door, running down the stairs and along the floor before finally slicing across Brick's face. His eyes twitched, but he just scrunched his nose, shut his eyes tighter, and turned away from the door.<p>

However, he was met with a surprisingly eager Butch that morning.

"Come'n Brick," his brother prodded as he poked his still half sleeping form on the floor. "Up'n' at 'em. Rise'n' shine. Time ta seize the da' an' all that yadda yadda."

"Hmph… what?" Brick groaned, swatting unenthusiastically back at Butch's hand. "What's with y-" Brick stopped when opened his eyes to find Butch staring him right in the face, slightly disturbed by his appearance. Sure, thanks to his shower his hair wasn't as greasy as it had been and he wasn't covered in dirt, and the girls apparently had gotten around to changing the bandages on his arm. But his face was another story.

Butch's eyes were stretched much too wide, his eyebrows raised far beyond what should be normal. Eyes drained, bloodshot and empty. Purple bags slouched down his cheek, rising slightly as his ecstatic grin tightened. In Brick's opinion, he looked like one of those psychos from the Halloween movies where the committed loony escapes from the insane asylum to slaughter the nearby neighbors.

Brick flinched, his arm shaking as he placed his hand against the wall to steady himself as he stood. He kept his eyes on Butch the entire time, and Butch did the same. "B-Butch?" he started as he stumbled slightly. "W-what time did you go to bed?"

When he answered, he spoke in a rush, his words almost indistinguishable. If Brick hadn't been hyper aware of Butch then after being scared silly, he might have mistaken his sentence for a solitary word. "Oh, I didt got obed." Butch's expression remained constant, eyes wide with a monstrous grin.

Brick nodded slowly, trying to urge him to speak slower, "Okay...why?"

"I dot knooh, Ijus couldt geta nesleep. Ijus satre an' talkedta Boomr' when'e wok'up."

"…say again?" Brick asked, unable to decipher the mumbles and slurs.

"Coldn seep. Talkta Boomr."

"You couldn't sleep and talked to Boomer?"

"Yeh!" Butch cheered enthusiastically, nearly falling over in the process.

Brick glanced to the spot where Boomer had been when he fell asleep, but there was no one to be found. He didn't appear to be in the basement at all. "Well, where is Boomer now?"

"E' 'ent u'stairs toogit watr' boutto 'oursgo."

Brick's eyebrows creased, "What?"

Butch pointed at the stairs, "Ussstairs."

"Uh huh… where upstairs?"

"Idonnow…"

"And you haven't gone up to check on him?" Brick asked incredulously.

"Nawdude, Butrcp's upther, Imnt gon."

"Great," Brick muttered, slapping himself in the face. "Come on, let's go find him," he ordered, grabbing Butch's arm. Being Brick was like being a full-time baby sitter sometimes.

When he opened the door at the top of the stairs he was surprised to see that it was obviously daytime, but then he remembered how they'd probably fallen asleep around 4 or 5 in the morning. He turned into the kitchen to find that it was brightly lit and smelled of coffee and cinnamon, with Blossom sitting at the table drinking a glass of orange juice as she skimmed over the newspaper. Bubbles was over by the stove, dropping a few pieces of bread into the toaster. She noticed him first, glancing over her shoulder after she pressed down the lever. "Hey boys."

Blossom glanced up from her paper and her eyes instantly darted to Brick before her gaze drifted over the Butch who had practically fallen asleep on his shoulder. "Is Butch okay?"

Brick grimaced, noticing the drool dripping from Butch's mouth onto his shirt. "He didn't get much sleep," he answered quickly before remembering a more urgent matter. "Have you guys seen Boomer anywhere?"

Blossom and Bubbles turned to each other with looks of evident confusion before returning their attention to Brick. "I haven't seen him since last night," Blossom replied as Bubbles shook her head.

"Butch said something about him coming upstairs," he offered. "But I was still asleep."

"When did he come up?" Bubbles asked.

"A few hours ago? Butch was mumbling something about it," he explained as he walked over to the table and sat Butch down in his usual seat. He noticed Blossom rise from her chair as he did and he instinctively took a few steps back.

"Maybe the Professor's seen him," she said as she turned and headed towards the lab. "He was planning on doing some work downstairs once you guys were up

Brick's eyebrows knitted together, wondering how the Professor could've possibly gotten downstairs already when they'd only been in the kitchen for a minute. He followed Blossom down the hall with Bubbles right behind him. Blossom turned the handle and the door immediately flung open to reveal the Professor, who instantly turned around and shut it behind him, pressing his back to it once he had. He had a strange grin on his face, clouded by a look of worry.

"Um..." Blossom mumbled, still recovering from the surprise, "P-Professor, you haven't seen Boomer have you?"

"Oh yes, he was up here earlier."

"Well, we haven't seen him anywhere and we w-."

"Oh, that's because I sent him to the grocery store," the Professor interrupted.

Brick's eyebrows furrowed in both confusion and annoyance. Grocery store?

"...Wait, why would you send him to the grocery store?" Apparently Blossom had a similar feeling.

"Because we don't have any cat food!" the Professor answered quickly.

…

They have a cat?

Before Blossom had a chance to ask anything else on the matter, the Professor rushed back through the basement door, slamming it shut behind him, and once again startling the trio.

"So... the Professor sent my beat-up, powerless brother to the grocery store for cat food?" Brick asked Blossom in aggravation. It would be just like Boomer to try to fly and get hit by a car or something.

Blossom sighed, "Apparently. Me and Bubbles can go look for-"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already!" Brick practically yelled. "Bubbles can't look for Boomer!"

"But you're doing alright today..." she added.

"Because I've been around you more than he's been with Bubbles!" Brick clenched his jaw as soon as he said this, suddenly feeling slightly self-conscience. He felt a strange burning sensation in his chest, similar to last night. He needed to calm down.

But Blossom didn't seem to notice, "Fine, sorry, I..." she stopped, "Hey, where's Buttercup?"

"I'll go check our room," Bubbles replied hastily, shooting over the railing and up to the second floor.

"Then we're leaving right?" Brick insisted. He hated not knowing where Boomer was. What kinda leader loses his brother?

"We?" Blossom questioned, folding her arms together.

Before Brick could make a retort of any kind, Bubbles returned with a half asleep Buttercup at her side. "Bubbles said you wanted me?" she yawned.

"Yes," Blossom said, turning to her sister, "Boomer's gone. We're going out to find him."

"All right," Buttercup cheered, pumping her fists, "I'm getting outta the house today!"

"Come on," Blossom persisted, lifting off the ground as if she were about to take off.

"Hey!" Brick yelled, grabbing Blossom's hand to stop her. She glanced around just in time to see his eyes flash, and he let go. "I'm coming with," he insisted, needing to shut his eyes a few times to make them dim. He could feel them glow, but just ever so slightly. He could barely tell at all. What was going on?

"You're not serious!" Buttercup protested. "He's just gonna cause trouble for us."

Blossom didn't respond, glaring back down at Brick. "Buttercup's right. You'll just get in the way."

"He's my brother. He's my responsibility," Brick insisted. "I'm going with."

"Oh, come on," Buttercup whined, dropping her arms in exasperation. "He doesn't even have all of his powers back! How's he gonna fly? I'm not carrying him."

"…Blossom?" he asked, extending his hand out to her, "Can I try just one more time? I'm sure I can get it right this time." He _hoped_ he would get it right; he was so nervous he was practically shaking. Well, after what happened the last time how could he not be? He just hoped Blossom wouldn't notice.

"Try what? What the heck is he talking about?" Buttercup barked.

Bubbles flew up to her, with an ease that Brick envied at the moment, and attempted to pull Buttercup aside despite her protesting. Eventually she cooperated and Bubbles began explaining something in a hushed tone, too hushed for Brick to pick up on unfortunately due to his lack of powers.

Blossom hadn't looked away from his hand, the corners of her mouth turning into a frown as she considered. She wouldn't refuse, would she?

"If you're going to ask for my help," she said, "I believe I'm entitled to an explanation."

Brick's heart stopped, but when it started up again the room seemed so quiet he could hear his pulse ring in his ears. He let his hand fall.

"Have you reconsidered?" Blossom asked, raising an eyebrow.

Brick sighed. "When you say explanation…"

Brick looked up to see Blossom hovering right in front of his face. "I want to know what happened last night that turned you white as a sheet," she clarified.

"That's none of your business," Brick retorted.

"My business or not, that's my offer and I'm not changing it. If you want to come so badly then you can either tell me what happened and fly there with us, or not and walk there at the appropriate human pace."

He couldn't tell her. He _really_ didn't want to talk about it, let alone talk to Blossom about it. He wanted to just forget all about it, wanted things to go back how they were before Mojo took them back. At least the pain made sense then.

But he needed to help Boomer. He knew Blossom and Buttercup could probably handle it without him, but he was the leader. More importantly Boomer was his brother. He didn't like it when other people got involved in his problems; staying with the Powerpuffs while they tried to escape from Mojo was already bad enough.

"Deal," he said.

Blossom grabbed his hand with a smile that Brick couldn't even hope to return. He forced himself to stare at her just like he had the last few times he'd attempted this. He tried to focus on her hand, her touch. His arms shook, his power building up. He shut his eyes when he noticed the red glare on Blossom's face. It wasn't painful really, except for the tense feeling in his chest. He could sense more fully where she was, from her feet to the tip of her nose; he could've reached out and grabbed her other hand easily without looking.

But then Brick noticed something. He could feel himself slowly gravitate towards her. He hadn't even noticed himself levitating before. He pulled back, but he only seemed to be drawn forward again.

And it hit him.

It was like his heart had just exploded, or rather erupted. His throat burned liked he'd just swallowed lava and he half expected to start breathing fire. The burning instantly shot through his limbs, frying his arms and legs and scorching his fingers and toes, his power spiking.

Brick's eyes flew open and he shot back, panting and dripping in sweet. As he tried unsuccessfully to catch his breath he noticed Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup staring at him.

"I… I'm…" he spluttered between breathes.

"If you try to say you're fine, you're staying home," Blossom warned.

"Uh… I'm ready?"

"Fine," Buttercup rolled her eyes just before she took off. "Just don't slow us down."

She was gone in a second and Brick turned back to Bubbles before he took off after her.

"Look after Butch while we're gone? We don't need him running around town unsupervised too."

She nodded. "He's not going anywhere."

He nodded back to see Blossom waiting for him. He'd expected, and hoped, she would've followed Buttercup out instantly. He supposed that meant she wanted an explanation sooner rather than later…

Figures.

* * *

><p><em>Butch's Sleep Talk Translations:<em>

1. "Come on Brick. Up and at 'em. Rise and shine. Time to seize the day and all that yadda yadda."  
>2. "Oh, I didn't go to bed."<br>3. "I don't know, I just couldn't get any sleep. I just sat here and talked to Boomer when he woke up."  
>4. "Couldn't sleep. Talked to Boomer."<br>5. "He went upstairs to get water about two hours ago."  
>6. "Upstairs"<br>7. "I don't know."  
>8. "No way Dude. Buttercup's up there. I'm not going"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Please review :3<strong>


	9. Difficulties

**Been a while hasn't it? ^^; Sorry for the wait, I've been working on personal projects more lately and kinda lost the desire to write this story. But don't worry, I plan to finish it ;3 I still like writing it enough to do that at least. Also this chapter is a little shorter that average mostly because (for those of you that read the original) all content after this chapter will be new. Wait... I'm gonna have to write new stuff again! I haven't done that in so long!**

**Anyway, hope you like it ^^**

* * *

><p>"So… are you going to tell me or not?"<p>

They were on their way to meet up with Buttercup, flying steadily over Townsville with the wind battering their faces and blowing their hair back, making it difficult for Blossom to see Brick though her bangs.

He glanced in her direction before ducking his head, "Can't we do this later?"

Blossom frowned, flew in front of him, and came to an abrupt stop much to his annoyance. "We have a deal."

"I know okay, I just…"

"Just what?"

"Look, you're smart. What do you think happened?"

"If I were to guess, I'd say I got the best of you again. But you-"

"Well would you look at that, you got it right," he cheered cynically, waving his hands with mock enthusiasm. "Now if we could just-"

"Brick," Blossom insisted, pushing him back with her hand against his shoulder. "You're acting different. And you agreed to tell me why."

But instead of pushing forward like she'd expected, Brick shrunk away from her touch. "I don't know, all right? I don't know what's wrong with me. I kinda do, but I don't. Not really… It's just… When I… Something's … uh…"

Blossom was becoming impatient, watching his eyes dart to anything that wasn't her face. "Well?"

"Look, it's my problem alright! I don't just go spilling my guts to everyone, least of all you."

For a moment Blossom didn't know what to say, too stunned by his last remark, but Brick used the chance to correct himself.

"Ugh. Blossom, I-er… I didn't mean that. I know you want to help and all, but I don't think you can help with this. Deactivating Mojo's remote is one thing, but my body is my business."

Blossom sighed, "Brick, I understand where you're coming from, but we had a deal. If you don't tell me you can start heading home."

"No, you don't understand…" He huffed under his breath. "Just not now, okay?"

Blossom hesitated for a moment before conceding defeat, "Fine. But you will tell me."

Blossom flew a ways ahead of Brick, but made sure to keep a close distance since he was flying rather slow and looked like he would drop out of the sky any second.

That new tactic of his, forcing pain on himself just to heal faster and get his powers back, was becoming annoying. She rolled her eyes; of course Brick would have to be the one to recklessly put himself in harm's way for such a small benefit. Typical.

"Ugh, you guys took forever!"

Blossom looked down to see Buttercup standing outside the supermarket. She landed next to her, "Let's just grab Boomer and get out of here."

Buttercup rolled her eyes, "Yeah, whatever." She stomped up to the automatic door which took longer than she would have liked to open: all of two seconds. She flew in instantly. Blossom rolled her eyes and followed behind her at a slower pace while Brick entered on foot.

She turned down the breakfast foods isle, the one lines with Lucky Captain Rabbit King cereal boxes. "Boomer?" she called, feeling a little silly as she headed to the next aisle. She continued the process for some time, becoming a little discouraged when she reached the bread aisle.

"Psst, Blossom!"

Blossom instantly spun around, searching frantically until she spotted Boomer sitting behind a soup display.

"Boomer? What are you-"

She stopped speaking when he started waving his hands frantically and pointing behind her. She looked just in time to see a certain evil genius monkey appear from one of the isles.

Mojo Jojo.

Spot behind the soup display; population: 2.

Blossom shrunk back next to Boomer, trying to keep out of their line of sight, keeping as still as possible.

Then out of the corner of her eye she saw Brick heading down the aisle next to them. Just when he was about to turn and walk directly into Mojo's line of sight, Blossom grabbed at his arm and yanked him down to the floor. He immediately opened his mouth to say something, but Blossom clamped her hand over it before he could; Mojo was walking towards them and a few other familiar faces had joined him.

Her eyes darted from Mojo to Brick, back and forth, watching one continue to shorten the distance between them while the other's eyes rolled back into their head respectively. Not a good day.

Once Mojo and company turned down the candy aisle Blossom released Brick. He looked shaken and confused at first, and was about to ask something when Buttercup appeared next to him.

"Shut up!" she hissed.

"What're yo-?"

"Just shut up, alright?" Buttercup snapped. She was squatting down in front of him, her hand pressed against the wall for balance. She spun around to glare at him, making sure he wouldn't speak again, before facing back towards the dairy section.

Brick shook his head and turned to Blossom, lowering his voice to less than a whisper, "What's going on?"

But she didn't answer at first, pressing her lips together. She probably shouldn't have dragged him down like that; his eyes were going bright.

"Just answer," he huffed.

Just as she was about to, Boomer did. "Mojo's here."

"Princess and Fuzzy too," Blossom added.

Brick scrunched his nose, "Fuzzy?"

"Would guys just shut up!" Buttercup whispered back harshly. "And do something about Mr. Headlights!" she ordered, gesturing at Brick, "They're gonna see us."

Brick turned back to Blossom, seeming confused as he looked down at his well-lit red-tinted hand. Had he not noticed?

"Here we go," Buttercup said as she tied a cloth over his eyes.

"Buttercup! What're you doing!" He hissed.

"Quit moving!" she fussed with his hat, trying to move it out of the way.

"Where did you get that blindfold?" Blossom asked.

"It's not a blindfold. It's a rag I swiped it from a janitor when he walked by."

Blossom couldn't stop the grin that slid onto her face when Brick turned to face Buttercup. She could only imagine the look he was giving her. Boomer snickered.

"Shut up," Brick groaned.

Spot behind the soup display; population: 4.

Blossom turned to look and see if Mojo was around, but Buttercup blocked most of the view. She just noticed how little space there was behind the display; with Boomer in back and Brick and Blossom facing each other Buttercup barely fit. Her eyes kept drifting back up to Brick. He was a still as a statue and looked incredibly funny.

"We quit!" Princess yelled.

"You're on your own!" The second one was Fuzzy. They weren't very far.

"Blossom?" Brick whispered, grabbing her attention, "What's going on?"

She bit her lip. Not only was she not sure exactly what was happening, now wasn't the time for talking.

"Aw, come on guys. We were so close the first time. And just wait until you see my newest creations!" Mojo yelled. Brick tensed up again.

They seemed to be moving farther away, so Blossom took the opportunity to answer Brick's question now that she had an idea of what exactly they were up to, "Princess and Fuzzy are arguing with Mojo. It sounds like we walked in on a Beat Alls family reunion."

"But we're missing one," Buttercup added.

"Who?" Brick asked.

"Did I say you could talk?"

Blossom sighed, "Him's not here." Why wouldn't Him be there? Maybe it wasn't Beat Alls related at all.

"Don't you mean 'he's' not here?" Boomer asked.

"No, she means 'Him' Boomer," Brick reassured. Blossom smiled.

"Oh, right."

Buttercup scooted farther back behind the display, falling into both Brick's and Blossom's laps roughly. Now that she was no longer blocking the aisle, Blossom could see Fuzzy's boots.

Brick opened his mouth, but Blossom instantly covered it with her hand again.

"Does it look like we care?" Princess asked.

Blossom hoped this wouldn't last much longer; she could feel Brick's jaw clench under her fingers. A red light shined through the rag where his eyes were and Buttercup reached up to cover them as well.

"But with their help we can rule over Townsville! They are the most powerful, most supreme, most-"

"Can it monkey boy!"

There was the clatter of metal cans and the table began to rock slightly. Brick leaned away from the display, his head above Buttercup as well as Blossom's lap. Blossom released his mouth and quickly moved to the cans, grabbing the table and one of the cans that had almost fallen. _Please just go!_ Blossom pleaded.

"We quit Mojo! This was a stupid idea! Him was right to stay home! Come on Fuzzy, let's go"

The clicking of Princess's heels ended the conversation, becoming more and more distant as she neared the exit, followed only halfway by the clatter of Mojo's boots.

"Fine! Go! See if I care! I shall rule the world with my new sons, and no one will stop me!"

Even with her super hearing, Blossom would've sworn the store had gone silent. She wasn't even breathing.

"Sir, that'll be $5.50," a stuffy voice sounded from down the aisle.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, there you are."

There was the sound of change rattling, then a cash register opening.

"Here's your receipt."

"Thank you."

All four super powered teens didn't move until they could no longer hear the sound of Mojo's boots, and waited that extra minute for the automatic door to open and close.

At the very instant the door shut, they all let out exasperated sighs of relief and went limp. Buttercup sagged even farther to the floor and rolled completely into Blossom's lap as Brick fell sideways onto the floor and Blossom collapsed onto his side. Her head would rise and fall as he gasped for breathe.

"That was close…" Blossom sighed between breathes.

Brick grinned, rolling over onto his back as Blossom sat up and leaned against the wall. "No kidding," he said as he played with the makeshift blindfold. "I believe this is yours Buttercup," he muttered before tossing it towards her, landing over her face.

Everyone laughed as Buttercup wiped it off of instantly, "Whatever."

Then, out of nowhere, the display of soup cans finally fell to the floor, scattering across the store.

Each of them groaned in unison.

"You youngsters are cleaning that up," the man called from behind the counter and the group let out another, louder groan.

"We will," Blossom sighed, "Sorry, Mr. Looper."

"It's Cooper!"

* * *

><p>Butch twitched himself awake and found that his right cheek, the one he'd been laying on, was covered in drool. Wait… how'd he end up in the kitchen.<p>

"Oh good, you're awake!"

Butch rubbed his eyes. "Bubbles?" he yawned before suddenly becoming alert. "Wait where's Buttercup?"

Bubbles smiled, "She went to the store with Blossom and Brick."

Normally Butch would ask for what possible reason the three of them would go to the store, but instead all that came out of his mouth was, "Thank God," before his head fell back into the puddle of drool that had accumulated on the table. He could finally get some sleep.

"Um… Butch?"

"What?" he grumbled.

"If you're tired wouldn't you rather sleep in a bed?"

"Who needs a bed?" Butch groaned. "This chair is probably the comfiest thing I've ever slept on."

Suddenly something was lifting Butch up from under his arms. What the-

"Come on. I'll take you upstairs," Bubbles said as she grabbed his legs and carried him upstairs all bridal-style. Normally Butch would've yelled and cussed and screamed all the way just like he had when she'd carried him to their house the first time, but he was much too sleep deprived for that at the moment. If it meant he didn't have to walk, Bubbles could carry him as long as she wanted.

Then she set him down on the softest thing Butch had ever felt and his eyes shot open.

"This is a bed?"

"Um… yeah. This is my bed."

"This so beats sleeping on the floor."

Bubbles giggled. "Well if you need me…"

Butch opened his eyes for a moment as she was talking a saw a strange purple octopus staring at him. What the heck?

He picked it up by one of its legs, holding it directly in front of his nose, when the leg just kinda sorta… popped off.

Butch could've sworn the temperature in the room dropped below freezing. When Bubbles stopped talking he turned slowly to see her staring at the octopus that was lying on the floor, shy one leg.

"O-Octi?"

Uh oh…

* * *

><p>"I still say it's Boomer's fault," Buttercup grumbled as they finally exited the shop after the <em>ever so fun and exciting <em>task of restacking the tower of soup cans. The remaining three followed behind her.

"You were the last one to move!" Boomer protested just as the door slid shut behind them.

"I was not, you totally flinched and knocked into one of the table legs."

"No I didn't!"

Brick just rolled his eyes as they continued to argue, both of them having chosen to stop walking just to yell at one another. Was it really so difficult to walk and talk at the same time?

"Well I know it wasn't me!" Buttercup shouted.

Brick sidestepped the two as their argument continued, Boomer having just made one of his less impressive comebacks, and headed over to where Blossom was sitting on the bike rack. He leaned against the wall next to her, glancing in her direction every so often. Her position never changed; one knee up, her cheek resting in her palm, staring with a blank expressing towards Buttercup and Boomer.

"How are you feeling?" she asked after a moment.

"Huh? Oh, fine." He hadn't expected her to start talking. "So what was that before? About a Beat Alls family reunion?" He'd been meaning to ask her about that, but never found the chance to while they were cleaning up the display.

She hopped off the bike rack. "The Beat Alls were a group of our worse enemies. They didn't usually work together, but I guess they just wanted us out of the picture so they joined forces. You've met two of them before: Mojo and Princess?"

"And the other two?" he pressed.

"The third was Fuzzy, Fuzzy Lumpkinz? You've never met him, but you'd know him if you saw him."

"Please don't tell me that," he groaned with a smile, "The last time someone told me that I ended up pile driving them into the ground."

Somehow that had earned him a smirk, "Well, he's a big pink furry, green-nosed, selfish, property-obsessed, banjo-playing hillbilly with antennas." She paused and watched as Brick nodded slowly, understanding why he wouldn't be able to fully picture this… _thing_ without seeing it for himself.

She sighed, "And then there's Him."

Brick nodded again; at least he'd seen a picture of Him before, so another description wouldn't be necessary.

There were more important things on his mind. "Are the Beat Alls still together?"

She shook her head, "No, we managed to break them up a few years ago. But before that they were unstoppable."

"Are they close or anything? Do they keep in touch?"

"Kind of, it depends who you're talking about. Mojo and Princess have teamed up before. And I heard Mojo, Him, and Fuzzy still have their three-way phone calls every so often to talk about their newest plans. I guess Mojo's still pretty close with all of them…" It wasn't until he turned away that she raised an eyebrow, "Why do you ask?"

Strangely, he felt the need to futz with something and chose to readjust him cap. "Well, we obviously don't want Mojo to know you guys are helping us out, so could it be a problem that Princess was there that one time we came with to help stop the bank robbery?"

Brick watched Blossom's eyes widened, "I really shouldn't have brought you guys with…"

"Look, would ya just get over it?" he blurted out. "Is it going to be a problem or not?"

"It could be," Blossom answered finally, hopping off the bike rack. "It defiantly could be. Princess is worse than a big mouth. She could let it slip at anytime. For all we know, Mojo might've found out already. Oh, this is bad…" she started pacing around, still holding her chin. Brick didn't bother saying anything; he wasn't sure what he could say. Then she stopped after a moment, eyes widening, and she glanced up at him.

"What?"

She didn't answer, but her eyebrows scrunched together in a look of obvious worry.

"W-Would you… no," she shook her head, "No, I can't ask you to do that."

"Try me," he pressed.

She folded her arms across her chest, still refusing to look at him. She seemed oddly nervous, shifting her weight from one foot to another, "Well… last night we went to Mojo's lab and broke you guys out. Mojo must have noticed that by now, and he might get suspicious… Of course this is assuming Princess hasn't mentioned anything to him yet, but…"

Brick's heart sank. He was no longer listening to Blossom's reasoning; he knew what direction she was heading in.

He gulped, "You want us to go back to Mojo." As he summarized her idea he could practically feel the blood drain from his face. Mojo? Go back to the psychotic monkey that had electrocuted them and stuffed them in cells? He hadn't even regained all of his powers from the last time he was there, let alone his brothers.

"I told you I couldn't ask you to do it," she muttered, shaking her head. "But I don't know what else to do. Mojo's bound to think something's up if you don't come back."

"Big deal, we didn't come back yesterday," Brick pointed out, eager to find some way to reason around Blossom's observation. But Mojo would suspect something.

"That's true," Blossom allowed, "But he let you leave that time and he knew you would be gone. This time we broke you out, so not only would you need to come up with an excuse for leaving, but you'll also need to explain how you got out without our help."

Brick bit his lip and turned back to Boomer and Buttercup, who were now in the process of yelling '_oh yeah?'_s and _'yeah'_s at each other. There had to be another option. Anything…

"I'm sorry Brick, but I think you have to," Blossom concluded.

Oh no. No. No. No. No. No.

"No way, we're are not going back there!" he snapped.

"You have to!" she insisted, a defiant glare forming on her face. "If you don't it could ruin everything. I don't even know what you're going to tell Mojo when you get there, but he's going to want an explanation for how you got out!"

She was right about one thing at least; Mojo would get suspicious.

But he wasn't about to change his answer, "That's a great reason why we shouldn't go back! I don't know what to tell him!"

"Then figure it out!"

"Dammit…" He wasn't sure why it was – maybe because they were arguing and it got his blood pumping, maybe it was because he was angry – but for whatever reason this conversation was making him burn. He hadn't notice the pain at all before, but now it was at the point much worse than what a usual conversation would trigger. He hadn't let himself get this so worked up since… well, since after his first simulator test with Blossom.

Brick turned away, biting his lip and keeping his eyes low.

"Well?"

Brick's eyes widened and he glanced back to see Blossom glaring at him with her arms folded together just as defiantly as ever, causing his eyebrows to furrow. She had been so timid a minute ago when his eyes were just barely glowing, and now she was acting as though she didn't notice at all. Why couldn't she care about these things at the right times?

"We never asked for your help," he muttered, grinding his teeth.

"Yes, you did," she corrected him.

"Then let me specify," he said curtly. "We never asked you to break us out of Mojo's lab. You could've just left us there. Then maybe we wouldn't be having this problem!"

"You know you didn't want to be there!" she shouted back. "You don't even want to go back! And once he figures out you guys are missing, who do you think he's going to turn to! It's not like they're any other superheroes in this town!"

This was bad. He really was going crazy. Blossom's words were still screaming in his head long after she'd finished speaking. He could feel his fingers begin to flex, to form an energy beam, but he was already balling his hands into fists at that point, his anger fanning the flames.

"So what if he does!" his eyes blazed. "So what if he finds out where we've been! What's the worst he can do to us! Make us go crazy? Make us kill you? What kind of threat is that to me?"

He needed to stop this; he was already mad and obviously Him's DNA was not only burning him alive, but also messing up his ability to think straight. Thinking over what he'd just barked out, he came to the conclusion that he was practically pmsing.

"Whether you care what happens to us or not, we're your only hope of escaping Mojo's control for good."

"My life would be a whole lot easier to live if you weren't here."

"If I wasn't here, you wouldn't have been given a life to live."

And with that Brick turned and stomped off back towards Boomer and Buttercup, praying that their diss-fest was over and they could finally leave. The adrenaline alone was giving him a migraine and arguing with Blossom most certainly was not helping.

* * *

><p>"I know you are, but what am I?"<p>

"A blond!"

"Hey!"

"What? It's true."

"Yeah? Well… you're a brunette!"

"Oooo… harsh."

"You're stuffy and boring and have no fun."

"Oh, now wait a-"

Buttercup stopped mid insult when she felt a hand on her shoulder, looking up to see a certain gang known for their sickly green skin.

"Oh, Ace…" Buttercup suddenly had trouble finding her voice.

"Is dis guy boder'en you Buttercup?" he asked, gesturing to Boomer.

Buttercup didn't answer.

"Hey Billy," Ace called.

Big Billy stood in front of Boomer, towering over him. Buttercup watched as Billy lifted Boomer off the ground by his shirt.

"Hey!"

When did Brick get there?

"What do you think you're doing! Put him down!"

"Oh, sorry," Big Billy mumbled in his usual stuffy voice as he began to lower Boomer.

"Hold it Billy."

Billy stopped just as Boomer's feet almost touched the ground and raised him up again. Brick frowned.

Buttercup felt Ace's hand move to her arm. "And who might yous' be, runt?"

"You tell 'Billy' here to put my brother down!" He growled, pointing up at Boomer.

Ace smirked, "Or what?"

"You'll have to answer to me."

Upon hearing his respond, the leader started laughing at him, "Hah! A little shrimp like you? What, yous' gonna step on my foot?"

"Step on your foot…" Brick muttered back. He flexed his fingers and once again, a sphere of red energy appeared in his palm. "How about I burn it off?"

Ace released Buttercup, palms out in surrender, "Heh heh, n-now now Shrimpy. Th-there's no need to be hasty or nothen'."

Suddenly something clicked in Buttercup's head and the foggy feeling faded, "Just who do you think you're messing with Brick?"

"Me! What are you doing? You think this is okay!" he gestured up to Boomer, who was still attempting to wiggle free from Billy's fist. His face was turning blue.

"These friends of yours Buttercup?" Ace asked.

Buttercup snorted, "Yeah right!" She turned to glare at Brick again when she heard his voice echo hers, "It's nothing Ace, they're just some nut jobs we had a run in with a few days ago. They'll be long gone in a day or two."

"So your name's Ace then," Brick grumbled. "So Ace, would you mind telling Billy over here to put down my brother already!"

"Yeah, yeah," the green leader huffed, "Hey Big Billy, yous' can drop off Blondie."

Billy smiled. "Okay!" And with that Boomer was dropped unceremoniously onto the pavement. He groaned, rubbing his backside a few times.

"Alright," Brick said, storming off, "Let's get out of here!"

Then Blossom came over, "Wait a second."

Buttercup groaned internally. Why did everyone suddenly have to take interest in Ace when he got there? It was embarrassing.

But then Brick and Blossom just glared at each other for a minute. Oh… Something was up.

But then Blossom approached them. "Ace, could you deliver a message to Mojo for me?"

Ace smiled and shrugged, "Sure, anythings for a friend of Buttercup's" Buttercup felt her cheeks heat up slightly.

"Tell Mojo, from the Rowdyruff Boys," she paused, waving a hand at both Brick and Boomer, "Which would be these two plus one more, that they have gone out to spy on us, the Powerpuff Girls. And they will be gone indefinitely."

Ace scratched his chin, "So wait a second, yous' help'en these guys out and they's spying on yous'."

Buttercup rolled her eyes, "No Ace. It's fine. We've got everything taken care of. Just tell Mojo that the Rowdyruff Boys say 'hi' and they're on an extended Powerpuff hunting trip." She smiled to Blossom, "Nice going Red, I forgot about what Mojo might think."

Blossom nodded, before heading over to Brick. What was with her?

But then as she passed Brick, Buttercup heard her mutter, "You sure you still don't want me around?" Oooooh, somebody screwed up.

"Well, I'll see yous' later Buttercup," Ace grinned, giving her another hug.

"Yeah," she hugged him back, "See you tonight."

And with that she went off to confront Brick the way only she could.

"What happened to you two?" Boomer asked as she joined them.

"Alright you, if you did anything to my sister I'm gonna-"

"Forget it," Blossom answered instantly and Buttercup shut her mouth. "Let's just go"

"Wow… Brick what'd you do?" Boomer whispered, as if Blossom wouldn't hear him.

Brick didn't answer as he stepped around Buttercup and Boomer before taking of, rather slowly, after Blossom.

"Um… Brick?" Boomer mumbled after no response.

"I always knew he was an idiot," Buttercup nodded to herself, crossing her arms.

"Hey! My brother is not an idiot," Boomer said.

"Not compared to you he's not," Buttercup took to the skies.

"Oh yeah? Well you're still a..."

Buttercup slowed to a stop when she didn't hear the rest of Boomer's comeback, watching him glare at his feet and hop up and down.

"_What_ are you doing?"

He pressed his lips together, "Uh… I can't fly."

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Of course you can't," she flew over and threw him over her shoulder just like she had with Butch. He made some type of grunting sound.

"So, you were saying? I'm still a what?"

"You're still a brunette."

And so the fight continued.

* * *

><p>Boomer gave up fighting with Buttercup after a while. She really did remind him a lot of Butch. They were both just as stubborn, just as loud. Well, maybe not quite as loud… no she was loud. He didn't know, there was a slight difference but it wasn't much. He wished he could fly on his own so she didn't have to carry him.<p>

It didn't take all too long to get home thankfully. Buttercup even sent him down on the driveway without dropping him or anything.

The next thing Boomer knew there was a crash and in a flash of pink light Blossom caught something that had just gone through one of the second story windows.

"Butch?" Blossom asked, "What are you-"

"Hide me!" he nearly screamed, jumping from her arms and darting behind a tree.

"What's with you?" Buttercup asked

Butch didn't answer, but then a blue light shot out from the window. "YOU BROKE OCTI!"

Buttercup let out a low whistle, "I'd sure hate to be Butch right now…"

"B-Bubbles," Blossom said, "Why don't we just settle down…"

"I will not settle down! He broke Octi!"

Boomer briefly wondered who Octi was and what Butch could've possibly done to make Bubbles so upset, but he figured now was not the best time to get involved.

"Bubbles, I'm sure the Professor can fix it. You know this isn't the first time Octi broke."

Bubbles sniffled a bit and sighed, "I know…"

"Come on," Blossom wrapped her arm over her shoulder, "Let's go inside and see what the Professor can do about Octi, and the boys."

Then Bubbles' head shot up and her eyes instantly found him. At first he was afraid she would start screaming at him too, but managed an awkward smile in response. Her face went red and she looked back to the ground.

"Y-yeah, okay. Let's go," she agreed, darting back into the house.

Boomer sighed with relief and followed the others inside. It was good to be home. Well, kinda… Good to be away from Mojo.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading :3 Please review<strong>


End file.
